Universal Air closes shop on commercial passenger flights

Airline Universal Air has announced it will cease all commercial passenger flights from the end of May, just over a year since it entered the market.

In a statement Friday, the airline said it had made the “difficult decision” to cancel all scheduled commercial passenger flights from May 31, after which it will only offer charter flights and aircraft leasing.

It said all customers affected were being “contacted directly and full refunds are being processed automatically”.

“We know how disappointing travel disruptions can be and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the company said on its website.

The announcement marks the end of the airline’s brief foray into commercial passenger flights, which saw it target smaller, lesser-known airports with its fleet of Dash 8-400 turboprop [jet engine-propellor hybrid] planes.

In August, Universal Air added Italy’s Amalfi Coast to its offerings of Ibiza, Palermo, Corfu, Nice and Pécs.

While the company did not provide a reason for the decision in its statement, it cited a “careful strategic review” of its operations in response to comments online.

The announcement drew mixed reactions from consumers on Facebook, with some criticising the company.

Hungarian national Szilárd Maron called the decision “ridiculous”, noting the company had recently opened a new route to Hungarian city Debrecen.

“Joke airline from Malta,” he said in a comment underneath a company post announcing the news.

Shiraya Busuttil said she was “disappointed” after booking a flight four months ago, while Cula Chris, who also said he had booked with the airline, said the decision “sucks”.

Mariella Mizzi, meanwhile, questioned whether the airline would refund the accommodation she had booked in advance.

Other customers expressed their regret at the decision, with frequent flyer Aldo Grech calling it “sad news”, adding a previous flight with the airline had been “one of my best flights ever”.

Michael Salone said he was “really sorry” to read the announcement, and that he had been “rooting” for the company, while Pécs-based Facebook user ‘Twee Dee’ said she had been “so happy to hear it was possible to fly to Malta for a long weekend”.

Elea Kathleen, meanwhile, expressed concern for the futures of cabin crew working for the airline.

In an interview in March last year, ahead of launching commercial passenger flights, CEO Simon Cook told Times of Malta that Universal Air was setting out to offer a middle ground between budget airlines and more expensive operators.

While acknowledging at the time that competition was “pretty high”, Cook had appeared confident the airline could hold its own against veteran budget airlines Ryanair and its subsidiary, Malta Air.

At the time, he said the company had expanded its staff considerably in the year leading up its commerical passenger launch, while noting that most of its crew were Maltese.

Times of Malta has contacted the airline for comment.