City Star collapses after Aberdeen Airport impounds plane
01.02.08
Aberdeen Airport based City Star Airlines has ceased operations after running into financial difficulties, putting 55 staff out of work. The airline, which served five destinations in Norway including Oslo, made 15 staff redundant in December. It 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 closure 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 simply 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 lunchtime. A spokesman would not reveal the reason, but it was understood to be over unpaid bills.
All 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 and added further destinations in Norway - Stavanger, Kristiansund, Alesund and Bergen.
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