Eastern Airways first suspended operations last year before entering administration – the airline was in business from 1997 and was based at Humberside Airport in North Lincolnshire
A UK airline has plunged into administration having been in business since 1997.
Eastern Airways first suspended operations in October before entering administration in November. It had been based at Humberside Airport in North Lincolnshire and operated regional services from airports across the United Kingdom.
All of its flights were cancelled as a result. It had services right across the UK, Europe and Ireland. Administrators said the airline was left with a cost base that was “too high to be sustainable” after a contract to operate services for Dutch airline KLM was ended.
Speaking to the BBC at the time, Jamie Miller from RSM UK Restructuring Advisory, who was appointed joint administrator, said sufficient staff had been retained to maintain the fleet while they sought to rescue some or all of Eastern’s operations.
He added: “We would welcome any interest from potential alternative operators, or those who may have an interest in the underlying assets.”
RSM said Eastern Airways had been operating four aircraft for KLM Cityhopper in Europe, but when this contract was terminated, it had left Eastern with “high fixed overheads and a staff base that has ultimately proved too high to be sustainable”. The majority of its 330 staff were reportedly made redundant.
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 comes after Royal Air Philippines was forced to cancel all of its commercial flights when it entered administration. Between 3,000 and 4,000 passengers holding bookings from January through March were reportedly left stranded.
Royal Air Philippines CEO Eduardo Novillas had already signalled weak demand weeks ago, warning the carrier would halt commercial flights by January 4 in a letter to a travel agency ahead of Christmas, Philstar reported.
He pointed to “significantly low” interest from key markets. Asian Development Bank economist Jules Hugot noted arrivals from China to the Philippines remained well below pre Covid pandemic figures entering early 2025.
