Belair Airlines (Zurich) has declared insolvency as of Wednesday, August 15, after talks with a prospective investor collapsed.
Under the new ownership of German investment firm SBC, the former airberlin group unit had, earlier this year, planned to secure a new Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) in time to commence ACMI and charter flights during the current summer season.
To do so, the board had sought to raise the necessary capital via a charter contract booked in April coupled with funds supplied from "one or more investors".
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, August 15, Belair's board of administrators had managed to whittle down its list of prospective investors to one who, convinced of the resurgent carrier's business plan, had planned to make a "significant contribution" to the business. However, said investor has since pulled out of the talks leaving Belair without the means needed to secure its AOC.
"In view of these developments – following the intensive restart preparation measures taken since the start of the year, the non-payment of the aforementioned customer since late April and the surprising cancellation of the prospective investor – today’s resolution to issue a declaration of insolvency within the week is unavoidable," the board said.
In preparation for its relaunch, Belair had also retained significant numbers of staff with the technical know-how needed to run its operations once in service.
"The negative repercussions of this development in particular, also affect the employees of Belair, who had supported the restart preparations with great commitment and professionalism," the board added. "They can now no longer be offered the prospective professional development. The management will provide support for their professional re-orientation within its capacity."
