Eastern Airways

History

Eastern Airways was founded in December 1997 by Bryan Huxford and Richard Lake, launching with a Humberside–Aberdeen service, and expanded through the acquisition of Air Kilroe's operations in 1999 and the transfer of aircraft from British Airways CitiExpress in 2003. It grew into a significant UK regional carrier flying around 1.3 million passengers a year, with Bristow Group taking a majority and later full ownership stake between 2014 and 2018 before founder Richard Lake reacquired the airline in 2019. A Flybe franchise begun in 2017 ended with Flybe's 2020 collapse, and the airline subsequently took on a major wet-lease contract flying Embraer E190s for KLM Cityhopper.

Current Operations

Eastern Airways ceased all flight operations on 27–28 October 2025 after filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators, having been financially destabilised by the breakdown of its KLM Cityhopper contract (which KLM ended on 5 October 2025) after the airline had invested heavily in additional Embraer E190 aircraft and crews for it. The company formally entered administration in early November 2025, its remaining aircraft were returned to lessors, and its Public Service Obligation routes (including Newquay–Gatwick and Aberdeen–Wick) had to be reassigned to other operators; commentators and administrators consider a resumption of flying under the Eastern Airways name unlikely, ending 28 years of operations.

Last verified 2026-09-02· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

Serves These Profiled Airports6

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