Eastern Airways seeks administrator as flights halted

Eastern Airways, the Humberside-based regional carrier, filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator on Monday, October 27, triggering a 10-day legal protection period while it seeks a rescue or restructuring. The step was followed by an immediate suspension of operations: ticket sales were halted, aircraft were returned to leasing companies and a raft of scheduled flights across England and Scotland were cancelled, leaving passengers and airports scrambling for alternatives.

The airline, founded in 1997, carried about 1.3 million passengers a year and operated services linking Aberdeen, Wick, Humberside, Teesside International, London Gatwick and Newquay. Several of its routes were supported by government subsidy as public service obligation links, including the Aberdeen to Wick service, and others served the North Sea energy sector by connecting Aberdeen with Teesside and Humberside. Eastern also provided charter flights for sports teams across Europe and had recently operated contracted services on behalf of other carriers.

Eastern’s most recent accounts showed worsening finances. For the year to March 2024 the carrier reported a net loss of 19.7 million and total...