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At the end of October, a British regional airline called Eastern Airways became the latest in a long string of airline shutdowns over the last few months when it suddenly canceled all of its flights to Scotland and Northern England. While not officially in bankruptcy, the East Midlands-based carrier established in 1997 asked a court to give it 10 days to seek funding instead of going straight to liquidation; a number of its aircraft have already been seized by lenders. “All Eastern Airways operated flights are canceled,” the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in an Oct. 27 note to passengers. “Therefore, please do not go to the airport as flights will not be operating.” Regional airline Aurigny tells travelers it is fine The abrupt shutdown left hundreds of travelers in different parts of the United Kingdom temporarily stranded and competitors like Dublin-based Ryanair offering rescue fares to those affected. With Eastern Airways brought down by the high cost of aircraft leases relative to lack of traffic in less-populated parts of the United Kingdom, one regional airline based in the United Kingdom’s Guernsey Islands in the English Channel is now reassuring travelers that it does not face the same fate. Philip Saunders, the chief commercial officer of Aurigny, told the BBC that it will continue providing service to Guernsey and the additional islands making up the Bailiwick. As the islands are separated by the British mainland by more than 200 miles, the local community relies on its primary airline for many daily needs; Aurigny was founded in 1968 and nationalized by the States of Guernsey in 2003. Aurigny relies on Eastern Airways as leasing partner Aurigny has occasionally used Eastern Airways as a leasing partner but at the moment is insisting that it will be unaffected by the latter’s shutdown. “Aurigny occasionally uses aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance providers to support consistent resilience and to maintain the schedule during peak demand periods, when our own aircraft are in maintenance or crew are undergoing training,” Saunders said while adding that 96% of the flights the airline ran in the first half of the year were on the airline’s own fleet. More on travel: Major airline launches surprising flight between Las Vegas and Paris United Airlines CEO gives stark warning on Olympic Games The highest rooftop in Barcelona is in a surprising place US government issues sudden warning on Switzerland travel Providing flights British oil and gas industry hubs and charter services to several local sports teams, Eastern Airways posted a loss of £19.7 million ($26.27 million USD) in the year between March 2023 and 2024 for a total loss of over £25.97 million ($34.63 million USD). The carrier’s troubles date back to the sudden dropoff in traveler numbers during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 while the uptick that came in the coming years was not large enough to make a dent in the high debts owned to aircraft lessors and creditors. Other airlines that filed for bankruptcy in 2025:
