Highland Airways in administration

PWC warns of substantial redundancies

Bruce Cartwright and Graham Frost of PricewaterhouseCoopers as joint administrators have been appointed at the request of the directors.

Highland Airways said that all flight operations have ceased with immediate effect and the company is in contact today with those passengers who had been expecting to travel in the coming weeks

The airline, which employs approximately 100 people, operated a fleet of nine aircraft on various contracts including routes from Inverness and Oban to the Western Isles as well as Cardiff to Anglesey. The administrators have warned there will be substantial redundancies.

Bruce Cartwright, joint administrator and head of business recovery services at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Scotland, said: “The Company had encountered trading difficulties including the loss of certain contracts. As a result they were in discussion with a number of parties over a period of time with a view to developing a new and viable operating model.

“The directors have now concluded that the option of maintaining operations while introducing a new investor is no longer feasible,” Cartwright added.

The administrators will now be attempting to handover services to new operators wherever feasible and said that where feasible, they will assist the workforce in securing employment with the new service providers.