Highland Airways has gone into administration with about 800 forward bookings after being pushed over the edge by the recent bad weather.
The airline served Scotland’s Western Isles from Inverness and Oban and also operated a route from Cardiff to Anglesey.
Established in 1991, it was originally called Air Alba.
Highland Airways had recently experienced a period of difficult trading which was worsened by the loss of three contracted routes in the last six months. Further problems developed when the airline was grounded for a significant period due to bad weather.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed as administrators at the request of the directors, leading to the termination of all services. The CAA has been informed.
Bruce Cartwright, PwC’s head of business recovery services and now joint administrator, said: “The company had encountered trading difficulties including the loss of certain contracts.
“As a result they were in discussion with a number of parties over a period of time with a view to developing a new and viable operating model.
“The directors have now concluded that the option of maintaining operations while introducing a new investor is no longer feasible.
“As administrators we are conscious that Highland provided a valuable service within Scotland and Wales and we will be working with contracted customers to ensure an orderly handover of services to new operators wherever feasible.
“It is inevitable that there will be a substantial number of redundancies but we will endeavour where feasible to assist the workforce in securing employment with the new service providers.”
Customers who booked their flights through their credit card or Visa Debit cards should contact their card issuer. Any other customer claims should be posted to Joint Administrators, c/o Erskine House, 68-73 Queen Street, Edinburgh EH2 4NH.