Envisioned as the world's first zero-emission regional carrier by British green investor Dale Vince, Ecojet Airlines never took-off, as it now becomes the latest regional carrier to enter voluntary liquidation in the British equivalent of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The upcoming Scottish carrier has abruptly halted all of its functions, with liquidators appointed by a court. Ecojet Airlines, an electric airline, has enlisted liquidators following an alleged attempt to raise £20 million.
The company was established in 2023 by entrepreneur Dale Vince, who is also a notable Labour Party donor. Mr Vince made multiple donations to Labour totalling £5.5m between 2022 and 2024.
The carrier had ambitious plans of a route from Edinburgh to Southampton, with future aspirations for mainland Europe and long-haul flights. At the time of launch, Mr Vince stated:
"This is a vital frontier in the move to net zero, green living, whatever you choose to call it - and it's absolutely doable. It's a matter of when, not if."
The airline's lofty plans for long-haul flights shattered when a petition was brought to Edinburgh Sheriff Court for the business to be wound and joint interim liquidators appointed, documents from the end of January show.
The Herald reports that Paul Dounis and Mark Harper, of Opus Restructuring, were appointed as provisional liquidators. Opus confirmed the action followed a "voluntary liquidation initiated by the company's board".
It added:
"Ecojet was a start-up business and has no material assets. The members have elected to fund the liquidation process to ensure that the company's employees receive their full statutory entitlements."
Ecotricity declared on its website at the time of the launch: "The move marks the beginning of an aviation revolution by making net-zero, emission-free air travel possible for the first time.
"Ecojet's fleet will comprise conventional planes retrofitted with hydrogen-electric powertrains. Once converted, the aircraft will operate with the same power output as before, but with a 100% reduction in CO2 emissions.
"The decision to repurpose old planes rather than build new models from scratch will save 90,000 tonnes of carbon per year. The only byproduct will be water, which can be captured and released into the lower atmosphere to avoid the harmful effects of contrails."
The initial plan unveiled by Vince and former pilot Brent Smith in 2023 was to purchase old Twin Otter and ATR 72 aircraft and then convert their kerosene engines for hydrogen-electric ones developed by aircraft maker ZeroAvia.
However, the very complex nature of the project eventually ran into financing problems, and deadlines were never met for demonstration to the regulators, throughout year 2024.
To be noted here, when Vince funded the first steps toward getting Ecojet to take off in 2023, he purchased 70 hydrogen-electric engines from ZeroAvia, the plan relied on bringing in additional investors who never showed up.
