Irish airline Skynet suspends all flights

All flights with the Irish registered airline Skynet have been suspended indefinitely and the company is refusing to take any further bookings.

Passengers booked to travel with Skynet are advised to call the company on (00-353-61) 234455 for a refund. Passengers are being accommodated on flights with airlines partnered with Skynet.

Last Friday, an aircraft operated by Skynet was repossessed at Shannon Airport. Babcock & Brown Limited, the company that had leased two Boeing 737 aircraft to Skynet, refused to comment on the suspension of Skynet flights.

However, it is understood that a High Court order was secured last week for the repossession of the aircraft. In a statement this evening the company said it was in negotiations with Babcock & Brown with a view to resolving the dispute over the leasing arrangement.

Skynet employs approximately 100 staff at Shannon, including pilots cabin crew and administration staff. It also operates a call centre for bookings. The company maintains it wants to resume operations and as a result, has not issued protective notice to its staff.

The airline had operated a six-day per week scheduled service between Shannon, Amsterdam and Moscow. A daily Dublin to Moscow service was suspended 3 weeks ago due to low passenger volumes.