Budget airline Play is set to transfer its entire fleet of aircraft to Malta and shut down its transatlantic operations, as part of a major restructuring effort under a proposed takeover.

The Reykjavik-based carrier, originally founded to operate low-cost routes between Europe and North America, plans to surrender its Icelandic Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) and consolidate operations under the Maltese AOC it obtained earlier this year. The Maltese-registered arm will operate under the name Play Europe.

As part of the restructuring, the airline’s transatlantic “bridge” via Reykjavik – which linked European cities with North America – will be discontinued at the end of the 2025 summer season.

Play has cited underwhelming unit revenues on these routes, blaming pandemic-related disruptions, geopolitical instability, and increased competition following the redeployment of capacity to transatlantic services in the wake of airspace closures.

Play’s entire fleet of 10 Airbus A320neo-family jets will be transferred to Malta. Of these, four aircraft will remain based in Iceland to serve the outbound leisure market, operating flights to southern Europe, North Africa, and select northern European destinations. The remaining six jets will be leased out, with the airline pointing to strong demand for modern narrowbody aircraft.

Play has already entered into a two-and-a-half-year lease agreement with SkyUp Airlines for four of its aircraft, and is currently in talks with other parties regarding the lease of the remaining two.

The airline received its Maltese AOC from the Civil Aviation Directorate on 28th March 2025.