Ascend Airways has cancelled all flights with immediate effect and will relinquish its UK Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). The firm was established in 2004 but traded under its current name for only three years.
As a “wet-lease” carrier, the airline provided aircraft to operators including Oman Air, Air Sierra Leone and TUI Airways. Also known as ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance), the company was a short-term supplier of fully-crewed aircraft to fellow airlines.
According to insiders at the company, staff received an email citing economic pressures, including the impact of the conflict in Iran on the jet fuel crisis, as reasons for the collapse.
A source told The Sun: “It’s gone bust today, we got the news this afternoon….