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Founded | 9 August 1983 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 1 April 2016 | ||||||
Operating bases | |||||||
Headquarters | Doncaster Sheffield Airport, Finningley, United Kingdom [1] | ||||||
Key people |
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Website | linksair |
Links Air was a British airline selling and operating scheduled regional flights as well as charter services. It formerly operated scheduled flights out of Doncaster Sheffield Airport [3] and public service obligation flights in Wales from Cardiff to Anglesey on behalf of the Welsh Government.
The airline was founded by Jon Ibbotson. It began operating under its own name on scheduled flights in April 2014, after previously operating on behalf of Varsity Express and Citywing. For 2015, Norwich was added as a destination from Cardiff before being dropped after less than 2 months, while Belfast flights were cancelled and Isle of Man flights ceased operating on Sunday 14 June. [4]
Until October 2015, the airline held a Type B operating licence issued by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), authorising the company to operate flights with fewer than 20 passengers and/or weighing less than 10 tonnes, which were operated by its three British Aerospace Jetstream 31 aircraft. [5]
On 21 October 2015 the CAA suspended the airline's operating certificate [6] over safety concerns, stating that, "Safety is always our first priority and we will always take action when necessary to protect the travelling public." [7] The Cardiff-Anglesey route was taken over by North Flying on behalf of Links Air on short notice. [8] The route has since been operated by Van Air Europe and DragonFly Executive Air Charter, before returning to North Flying. Links Air withdrew its service without notice on 22 January 2016, The service was later run by Citywing. [9]
Links Air was liquidated on 1 April 2016. [10]
Aircraft | Total | Passengers Y | Notes |
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BAe Jetstream 31 | 3 | 19 | Grounded |
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