SkyGreece Airlines 'temporarily' halting operations

SkyGreece, the fledgling airline offering flights between Europe and North America, is temporarily ceasing operations, Toronto's Pearson airport said in tweet on Thursday evening.

"SkyGreece has announced it is temporarily ceasing operations. SkyGreece passengers are advised to contact airline," the tweet from Pearson said.

The news came as passengers struggled to find alternate travel plans when SkyGreece Airlines flights to and from Toronto on Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled "due to operational reasons,"

Last week a flight out of Pearson Airport was delayed for four days.

Before the announcement came, the airline's Twitter and Facebook accounts had been taken down, sparking rumours that it was ceasing operations entirely.

On Wednesday, its Athens-Zagreb-Toronto flight was cancelled, as were two flights between Toronto and Greece via Budapest.

SkyGreece, which has only one plane, says it was founded in 2012 and started its operations in 2014.

On Thursday, Dianne Kiparisas, a travel agent with Skyway Tours on Danforth Avenue, told CBC she had been taking calls from SkyGreece passengers stranded in Greece and desperate to return to Toronto.

"They're frustrated, they're elderly, there are people with kids, there are people who have to come back for work and there's no way of coming back," Kiparisis said.

Aris Sideratos, the owner of Skyway Tours, said he didn't know what to tell the passengers stuck in Greece.