UK airline in administration with all flights cancelled and 330 staff axed

Eastern Airways has entered administration after suspending operations in October, cancelling all flights. The UK regional airline had been based at Humberside Airport since 1997

A UK airline that has been in operation since 1997 has fallen into administration with all flights being cancelled.

Eastern Airways initially suspended operations in October before officially entering administration in November. The airline was headquartered at Humberside Airport in North Lincolnshire and ran regional services from various airports across the UK.

As a consequence, all its flights were cancelled. The airline offered services throughout the UK, Europe and Ireland. Administrators stated that after a contract to operate services for Dutch airline KLM was terminated, the airline was left with a cost base that was “too high to be sustainable”.

Jamie Miller from RSM UK Restructuring Advisory, who was appointed joint administrator, spoke to the BBC at the time, stating that enough staff had been kept on to maintain the fleet whilst they attempted to salvage some or all of Eastern’s operations.

He further commented: “We would welcome any interest from potential alternative operators, or those who may have an interest in the underlying assets.”

RSM revealed that Eastern Airways had been operating four aircraft for KLM Cityhopper in Europe, but when this contract was ended, it left Eastern with “high fixed overheads and a staff base that has ultimately proved too high to be sustainable”. It was reported that the majority of its 330 staff were made redundant, reports the Mirror.

Quoted by Travel Weekly, Mr Miller also said: “It is extremely sad that such a long established and historically successful independent airline, one of the few remaining in the UK, has had to enter administration.

“The unexpected and sudden termination of Eastern’s KLM contract, along with other economic factors, unfortunately left the directors with no choice but to appoint administrators.

“At its peak, Eastern was an award-winning airline providing 200 flights per day. They also provided valuable services on public service obligation (PSO) routes and supported energy critical services to the oil and gas sector.”

This follows Royal Air Philippines being compelled to axe all its commercial services after going into administration. Between 3,000 and 4,000 passengers holding reservations from January through March were reportedly left without flights.

Royal Air Philippines CEO Eduardo Novillas had already indicated poor demand weeks earlier, cautioning the carrier would cease commercial operations by January 4 in correspondence to a travel firm before Christmas, Philstar reported.

He highlighted “significantly low” appetite from key markets. Asian Development Bank economist Jules Hugot observed arrivals from China to the Philippines stayed considerably below pre-Covid pandemic levels heading into early 2025.

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