France's second largest airline becomes the 12th to fold this year

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France’s second largest airline has become the 12th carrier to fail this year in a tumultuous month for the travel industry.

Aigle Azur filed for bankruptcy earlier in September but was finally liquidated on Friday. It was based at Paris Orly Airport and served more than 20 destinations across Europe, Africa, primarily Algeria, and the Middle East.

Despite boasting some 1.9 million passengers last year, the airline’s fate follows that of 11 others in 2019, including Thomas Cook Airlines, Flybmi and Wow air. It is understood 19,000 passengers have been stranded abroad.

The French government has called on Air France to consider hiring any of the 1,150 workers left unemployed by Aigle Azue’s demise.

Speaking to RTL radio, Elisabeth Borne, the transport and environment minister, said: “With the secretary of state for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, we will meet the Air France executives tomorrow and we’ll have the opportunity to ask them to take into account the situation of these employees, pilots included.

“Air France needs to hire people so I have no doubt they will make offers to the pilots and flight crew of Aigle Azur.”

Airline failures in 2019

Thomas Cook Airlines
XL Airways
Aigle Azur
Avianc Brazil
Fly Jamaica
Wow Air
Insel Air
Flybmi
Shaheen Airlines
Germania
California Pacific Airlines

Last week another French airline, XL Airways, suspended all flights and began bankruptcy proceedings. The French government said that state aid to Norwegian Air was partly to blame, a claim that the Norwegian airline denied.

The British Government is currently half way through Operation Matterhorn, the scheme to rescue 150,000 Thomas Cook holidaymakers stranded abroad by the failure of the tour operator.