Avies Airlines’ AOC suspended in Estonia

The airline intends to appeal against the prohibition on flights

The Estonian Civil Aviation Administration has suspended the air operator’s certificate (AOC) of Estonia-based Avies Airlines.

As reported by the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the carrier will be authorized to resume flights only after all non-compliances with aviation safety requirements have been corrected. Avies Airlines considers the aviation authority’s resolution unfair and will appeal it.

Avies Airlines, which has been experiencing financial difficulties, declared bankruptcy at the request of Swedish companies Swedewings and Bromma Air Maintenance in June 2015. In the first half of 2015 the Avies’ debts stood at 8.3 million euros. The creditors decided not to liquidate the airline and, in February 2016, approved a restructuring plan, which still requires endorsement by the Estonian court.

As a result of the AOC suspension, Avies Airlines, among others, stopped flights to Kuressaare, located on the island of Saaremaa, where the airline carried 12 thousand passengers in 2015. Consequently, the island’s air connectivity has been lost, and the government has already put out to tender air transport services in this destination. For the time being, the new Estonian national airline Nordica has expressed an interest in servicing this route, reports Ch-aviation.

According to the company’s air operator’s certificate data, Avies Airlines operated scheduled cargo and passenger flights on four aircraft: two Bombardier Learjet 60s (tail numbers ES-PVS and ES-PVC), a BAe Jetstream 31 (ES-PJA) and a BAe Jetstream 32 (ES-PJR). In addition to Kuressaare, the airline operated flights from the capital Tallinn, where it is based, to Kardla, Estonia, and to Stockholm, Sweden.