Thousands of Wow Air passengers have been stranded at airports across the world after the budget airline collapsed and ceased operating immediately this morning.

All flights have been cancelled by the carrier, who had previously said it was in the final stages of completing an agreement to raise new funds with a group of investors.

The Icelandic budget airline, whose collapse has sparked fury among thousands of passengers, was also slammed for still selling flights up until 7am this morning, mere hours before it ceased operations.

The airline was plagued by debts and needed a £32 million cash injection to survive, which it failed to secure.

The carrier connected Europe and North America via Reykjavik, with UK flights serving London Gatwick, London Stansted and Edinburgh.

Hundreds of Britons are thought to have been caught up in the chaos, which has left passengers clamoring for refunds. Four Wow Air flights were due to travel from Iceland's Reykjavik Airport to London Gatwick today.

Budget airline Wow Air has ceased all operations, leaving thousands of passengers stranded, including these passengers at Toronto airport

According to Icelandic newspaper Frettabladid, Wow Air was in need of £32 million to save the company.

It originally struck a deal to be bought by rival Icelandair in November, but this was called off weeks later over fears it would not win shareholder support.

US private equity company Indigo Partners then made an offer for Wow Air but this too fell through.

It then went back to Icelandair this week but that bid has now failed as well.

Wow Air said in a statement: 'Wow Air has ceased operation. All Wow Air flights have been cancelled.

'Passengers are advised to check available flights with other airlines.

'Some airlines may offer flights at a reduced rate, so-called rescue fares, in light of the circumstances.'

The Icelandic carrier, which has been plagued by financial issues, has also cancelled all flights

The budget airline shared this message on its website this morning, informing passengers of its collapse

Wow Air has been struggling financially for months and has repeatedly tried to find a buyer or investors.

Last year the airline was forced to sell four A320 jets and return four A330s, reducing its fleet to just 11 planes.

The airline, founded by entrepreneur Skuli Mogensen, began operations in 2012 and expanded quickly.

It specialized in ultra-cheap flights between North America and Europe, with flights from 27 airports, including Washington, D.C, New York, Paris, London and its Reykjavik hub.

This passenger revealed how she saw police officers boarding a Wow Air flight just as she got off, suggesting it might have been seized

Angry customers took to social media to criticise the company, with several saying they had been left stranded

Mogensen, 51, said in a letter to employees after the news broke: 'We have run out of time and have unfortunately not been able to secure the funding of the company.

'I will never be able to forgive myself for not taking action sooner.'

Several customers took to Twitter to slam the airline and reveal that they were stranded.

One wrote: 'You should be ashamed! My sister is stranded in a country that’s not her home with no way of getting home. What are you doing about this?'

Another said: 'My girlfriend is going to miss her grandfather's funeral because of this, I have nothing but deep hate and disrespect for this company.'

How Wow Air is the latest in a string of airlines to fail over the past two years in a competitively-priced market It was announced this morning that Wow Air was the latest budget airline to cease all operations following financial issues. British firm Monarch Airlines went bust in October 2017, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and more than 1,000 workers redundant. In October 2018, Danish firm Primera Air collapsed, with directors saying that they could not get financing from the bank and had spent more than £26 million leasing planes and rebuilding one with severe corrosion. British airline Flybmi went into administration in February of this year, blaming rising fuel costs and Britain's uncertain future after Brexit for its money woes. Air Berlin also ceased operations in October 2017, with a debt of £700million. Cypriot firm Cobalt, which operated flights to and from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted airport, went bust in October 2018. In January, Flybe narrowly avoided a similar fate after it was bought by a consortium including Virgin. Advertisement

A third added: 'Wow Air cancels flight to Dublin from Detroit at the last minute, looks like the company has gone bust. Any chance you can accommodate a family of four on @AerLingus out of Chicago or Tornado tomorrow the 28th? You would make this little girl Maeve very happy to see her cousins.'

Rory Boland, Travel Editor of Which?, said: 'Passengers will quite rightly be appalled that Wow Air, was still selling tickets right up to the moment it collapsed knowing full well that any tickets sold would likely not be worth the paper they are printed on.

'You will need to check if you booked your flights as part of a package as this will mean you are ATOL protected and will be entitled to your money back.

'If not, you may still be able to claim through your travel insurance or card issuer but it will depend on your circumstances. You can visit which.co.uk for more advice on your rights.'

He added on Twitter: 'A family of four travelling over the bank holiday could have paid over a thousand pounds this morning to book flights the airline knew would never take off (or refund). It went out of business just two hours later. Complete and utter irresponsibility.'

The now-collapsed airline wrote on its website: 'Passengers whose ticket was paid with a credit card are advised to contact their credit card company to check whether a refund of the ticket cost will be issued.

'Passengers may also be entitled to compensation from WOW AIR, including in accordance with European regulation on Air Passenger Rights.'

A report by an Icelandic government work group had previously warned that a Wow Air bankruptcy would lead to a drop in Iceland's gross domestic product, a drop in the value of the krona and rising inflation.

Wow Air is the latest in a string of disasters and collapses to have hit the aviation industry recently.

Monarch Airlines, Primera Air, Flybmi and Air Berlin have all collapsed recently, while struggling Flybe was bought by a consortium including Virgin in January.