Eastern Airways ceases flights and returns aircraft to leasing companies

“Do not go to the airport as flights will not operate” – this is the message from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to booked passengers Eastern AirwaysRegional airline, which connects destinations aberdeenNewquay and Gatwick have canceled all flights. Ticket sales, which continued till noon on Monday, have stopped. And the planes have been returned to the leasing companies. So it looks like Eastern Airways will shut down after 28 years.

Technically, the Humberside-based airline has filed a “notice of intention to appoint an administrator” – a legal move giving the company protection from creditors for 10 business days while it explores the option of liquidation. But flights are unlikely to resume.

humberside-based airline looks set to become the latest UK regional carrier to fail bmi regional And flybayPilots, cabin crew, office workers and other employees face losing their jobs.

Passengers with advance reservations are being urged to find alternative transportation and seek refunds.

For passengers and staff on routes to and from Aberdeen on Tuesday and Wednesday, 28-29 October, train operators will be offering free travel upon showing a boarding pass, flight confirmation or Eastern Airways employee ID. The CAA said: “LNER, ScotRail, TransPennine Express and Northern Railways will offer free standard class travel.”

The most recent annual accounts for Air Kilroy Limited, the legal entity of Eastern Airways, were filed in December 2024. The “Strategic Report” accompanying the results stated: “The Directors consider that the Company has a good mix of business activities, and that it is well balanced to handle the risks and uncertainties that it may face.”

But the legal action the carrier has taken includes claiming: “The company is or is likely to be unable to pay its debts.”

Before operations were suspended, Eastern Airways operated only four scheduled services.

Three of these routes were to and from Aberdeen. Links from the Scottish city to England’s Teesside and Humberside airports were primarily aimed at North Sea oil traffic. The connection between Aberdeen and Wick in far northern Scotland was supported by the Scottish Government as a “public service obligation” (PSO) route. The 93-mile flight, which normally took 30 minutes, saved a five-hour drive.

The remaining route was between London Gatwick and Newquay – another PSO connection intended to provide connectivity between Cornwall and the capital.

Independent Understands that Cornwall Council is urgently looking for a replacement carrier, with an airline to be named within a few days. Passengers with advance booking are likely to be able to transfer it to the new operator in the coming weeks and months.

Aviation analyst Shaun Moulton said: “Time will tell whether any of these routes are chosen, but it will be a terrible time for Humberside, Teesside, Wick and Newquay as Eastern operates its busiest domestic services.

“Regarding Aberdeen flights: logan It may have been best placed to serve these routes, however, as Eastern used 29-seater aircraft and Loganair would probably need to use much larger aircraft which may be unviable.

Eastern Airways was launched in 1997 to serve the oil industry with a single route between Humberside and Aberdeen. It expanded during the first decade of the 21st century, to include routes such as Newcastle to London City and a center on the Isle of Man.

In the 2010s, Eastern operated on behalf of British Airways between London City and the Isle of Man. It also operated several French domestic PSO routes for some time, and flew short-lived links between Cardiff and Anglesey in North Wales.

At the end of the Covid pandemic, Eastern Airways launched a short-term link between Birmingham and Gibraltar.

The airline claims to be “number one in Europe in providing charter flights for sports teams”, including Premier League football teams.

Eastern Airways entered into an agreement with KLM to operate a wide range of links from British cities to Amsterdam Schiphol on behalf of the Dutch airline, but this arrangement ended on 5 October.

A leading UK aviation expert said: “Taking a big contract with KLM, which later went wrong – because they worked with more Embraer jets and crew – this seems to have led to the collapse. Hopefully the staff will get paid at the end of October.”

Independent Eastern Airways has been contacted for comment.

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