Links Air

Links Air was a British airline selling and operating scheduled regional flights as well as charter services. It formerly operated scheduled flights out of Doncaster Sheffield Airport[2] and public service obligation flights in Wales from Cardiff to Anglesey on behalf of the Welsh Government.

Links Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
W2 LNQ FASTLINK
Founded9 August 1983
Operating bases
HeadquartersDoncaster Sheffield Airport, Finningley, United Kingdom[1]
Key people
  • Jonathan Gordon
  • Roy Ibbotson
Websitelinksair.co.uk

History

The airline began operating under its own name on scheduled flights in April 2014, after previously operating on behalf of Varsity Express and Citywing. For 2015, Norwich was added as a destination from Cardiff before being dropped after less than 2 months, while Belfast flights were cancelled and Isle of Man flights ceased operating on Sunday 14 June.[3]

Until October 2015, the airline held a Type B operating licence issued by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), authorising the company to operate flights with fewer than 20 passengers and/or weighing less than 10 tonnes, which were operated by its three British Aerospace Jetstream 31 aircraft.[4]

On 21 October 2015 the CAA suspended the airline's operating certificate[5] over safety concerns, stating that, "Safety is always our first priority and we will always take action when necessary to protect the travelling public."[6] The Cardiff-Anglesey route was taken over by North Flying on behalf of Links Air on short notice.[7] The route has since been operated by Van Air Europe and DragonFly Executive Air Charter, before returning to North Flying. Links Air withdrew its service without notice on 22 January 2016, The service is now run by Citywing.[8]

Links Air was liquidated on 1 April 2016.[9]

Destinations
Linksair BAe Jetstream 31

Former destinations
England
Isle of Man
Northern Ireland
Wales

Fleet
Links Air fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers Y Notes
BAe Jetstream 31 3 19 Grounded

Accidents and incidents
  • On 8 March 2012, a BAe Jetstream 31 of Links Air, operating Manx2 Flight 302 from Leeds-Bradford Airport, United Kingdom to Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, departed the runway on landing at Ronaldsway. The aircraft was substantially damaged when the starboard undercarriage collapsed due to corrosion-induced cracking. There were no injuries amongst the twelve passengers and two crew.[10]
  • On 15 August 2014, the aircraft involved in the 2012 accident was damaged at Doncaster-Sheffield airport on a flight from Belfast following the failure of the port undercarriage.[10][11][12] One passenger was taken to hospital for treatment and the airport was shut until the next day.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "BBC News - LinksAir announce Isle of Man air link to South Yorkshire". Bbc.co.uk. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  3. http://www.linksair.co.uk/
  4. "Type B Operating Licence Holders | Airline Licensing | Operations and Safety". Caa.co.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  5. "Official Record Series 2 Number 2176" (PDF). United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  6. "LinksAir loses Cardiff-Anglesey airline safety licence". BBC News. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  7. linksair.co.uk - "North Flying is temporarily operating the Cardiff - Anglesey route on behalf of Links Air." retrieved 25 October 2015
  8. http://www.cardiff-airport.com/news/2016/01/23/linksair-anglesey-service/
  9. Links Air Insolvency
  10. Accident description for Jetstream 31 G-CCPW at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 28 January 2015.
  11. "BBC News - Doncaster's Robin Hood Airport closed after aircraft landing incident". Bbc.co.uk. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  12. Accident description for Jetstream 31 G-GAVA at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 28 January 2015.
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