Air Transport

Ireland's aviation authority has withdrawn Dublin-based charter carrier Futura Gael's air operator's certificate, while Spanish parent company Futura International Airways is declining to comment on the status of its remaining carriers.

Dublin-based Futura Gael operates charter flights to the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and Egypt. According to Flight's ACAS database, the Irish carrier has a single Boeing 737-400 which is owned by Airplanes Group.

Futura Gael is said to have ceased trading overnight and a spokeswoman for the Irish Aviation Authority says: "Their air operator's certificate has been withdrawn."

A spokesman for Ireland's economic oversight body, the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR), says: "My understanding this morning is that [Futura Gael] has ceased trading while looking for an investor. They stopped flying at midnight."

The spokesman says Futura Gael is not obliged to notify CAR if it ceases trading and he was unable to give a definitive confirmation of the airline's status, but Futura Gael was "under watch" by the CAR, owing to concerns over its financial viability, and subject to regular regulatory review meetings.

A Dublin Airport Authority spokesman also says he understands that the carrier ceased trading at midnight.

A Futura International Airways spokeswoman declines to comment, saying only that a statement "regarding everything" will be released later today. The Spanish civil aviation administration could not immediately be contacted.

Palma de Mallorca-based Futura International Airways was founded in 1989 and is owned by Futura Global Aviation Holdings. Its fleet comprises 19 aircraft: 11 Boeing 737-800s, seven 737-400s and one 737-300. Flyant operates three aircraft, two Boeing 737-300SFs and a 737-400.