Austrian regional carrier Air Alps has ceased operations in what appears to be a disagreement among its investors.
The governor of the autonomous region of Bozen South Tyrol, Luis Durnwalder, said yesterday that the airline's operating licence has been suspended.
Local media reported that there was disagreement among the company's investors and that the majority stakeholder, Welcome Air Group, ferried the fleet from its operational base in Bozen to the company headquarters in Innsbruck.
Air Alps has a fleet of three Dornier 328 turboprops, according to Flightglobal's ACAS database.
The aircraft were deployed for scheduled flights from Bozen and Parma to Rome, seasonal services to Sardinia as well as individual charter contracts.
Welcome Air Group saved the airline from bankruptcy when it acquired 76% of Air Alps in late 2009. The remainder is held by the autonomous regions of Bozen (8%) and Trentino (8%), former majority shareholder BZS Holding (7%) and others (1%), according to ACAS.
Durnwalder said, however, that his region's stake has been virtually reduced to zero after a series of planned capital injections were not executed over the past several months.
He added that the administration is already talking to three operators to take over the flights from Bozen to Rome. One of them is a local company while the other two airlines are based in Germany and Switzerland, he added.
Additionally, Alitalia signalled interest in offering flights.
Welcome Air could not be reached for immediate comment.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news