Darwin Airline SA files for "Nachlassstundung"

Darwin Airline SA filed for “Nachlassstundung” (Moratoria concordataria) on Monday, 27 November 2017.

After starting a promising restructuring process under new ownership, Darwin Airline SA has encountered several unfavorable market impacts.

Shortly after the acquisition, Darwin Airline SA has been challenged with the termination of all business contracts by Alitalia who filed for insolvency proceedings in May 2017. Furthermore, the unexpected insolvency of Air Berlin in August 2017 lead to significant negative impacts such as bad debt, loss of existing business and future business opportunities. Immediate business initiatives such as the Bern operations and other attempts for new revenues have not been successful due to the high competitive market environment.

As a consequence, Darwin Airline SA decided to initiate proceedings for reorganization under insolvency rules (Nachlassstundung) under Swiss law.

Darwin Airline SA has developed a solution in order to save as many work positions as possible. The proceedings will start today, 27 November. The solution is based on three main pillars:
• Darwin Airline SA will continue to fly under the existing AOC (F7) for the time being.
• Darwin Airline SA will become a crew service provider for pilots and flight crews.
• Darwin Airline SA will offer maintenance services for own aircraft and third parties.

These operations will require between 100 and 120 employees at Darwin Airline SA.
The company believes adapted measure will provide foundation for continuation of its business activity and future operations.