City Star collapses after airport impounds plane
01.02.08
Aberdeen Airport based City Star Airlines has ceased operations after running into financial difficulties, putting its 55 staff out of work. The airline, which served 5 destinations in Norway including Oslo, is the second airline operating from the UK to be brought down by the current credit squeeze, following the demise of MaxJet on Christmas Eve.
The failure of the airline was blamed on the aftermath of an incident on the ground at Aberdeen Airport last November, when one of City Star's four Dornier aircraft was damaged by mobile passenger steps.
The airline's managing director Runar Fossadal Arnason, announcing that flights had ceased, said the incident meant City Star 'suffered the immediate loss of an aircraft which required us to take emergency measures to secure continued operation. Unfortunately, the incident has had a major knock-on effect and we have not been able to recover from this.'
The closure decision came after one of the airline's 328 turbo prop aircraft was impounded by Aberdeen Airport on Wednesday. A spokesman for the airport would not reveal the reason for the action, but it was understood to be over unpaid bills.
Passengers booked with the airline have been told to contact their credit card company or travel agent for a refund. It is not known how many forward bookings City Star had.
The airline started flying in March 2005, backed by investors in the UK and Iceland, with a single 32-seat Dornier 328 aircraft from Aberdeen to Oslo. It added further destinations in Norway - Stavanger, Kristiansund, Alesund and Bergen.
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