Air Berlin plane blocked in Iceland for unpaid bills

An Air Berlin flight was grounded in Reykjavik over the airline's unpaid airport charges. The Icelandic aviation authority would not allow the plane to take off without paying its bills.
Cash-strapped Air Berlin, one of Germany’s largest airlines, filed for insolvency in August after shareholder Etihad announced it would no longer be providing financial support. A €210 million ($247 million) bid by Lufthansa to buy the airline was accepted last week.

In a press statement, "Air Berlin filed a petition of the opening of insolvency proceedings in August and the unpaid airport charges occurred prior the insolvency period,” Isavia said.

Air Berlin disputed the grounding as "unlawful" and "unacceptable" in a statement issued to German magazine Stern, saying that it had repeatedly told Isavia that demands regarding unpaid airport charges for operations prior to the August 15 insolvency filing would have to be "registered on the insolvency table due to insolvency law" in Germany.

For the time being, Air Berlin has cancelled its remaining flights to Keflavik from both Berlin Tegel and Dusseldorf.