Links Air was a British airline selling and operating scheduled regional flights as well as charter services. It formerly operated scheduled flights out of

Doncaster Sheffield Airport Doncaster Sheffield Airport , formerly named and commonly referred to as Robin Hood Airport, is an unscheduled international airport closed to passenger traffic. The airport is located in Finningley near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. ...

and public service obligation flights in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

on behalf of the Welsh Government.

History

The airline was founded by Jon Ibbotson. It began operating under its own name on scheduled flights in April 2014, after previously operating on behalf of

Varsity Express Varsity Express (Varsity Air Services Ltd) was a regional airline based at London Oxford Airport in England. It was never a licensed airline, instead it sold tickets on flights operated by Linksair. Varsity Express operated only 11 scheduled fl ...

and

Citywing Citywing (a trading name of Citywing Aviation Services Limited) was an Isle of Man-based company that sold seats on scheduled air flights operated under charter. Flights linked several airports in the British Isles, with the company having a ba ...

. For 2015, Norwich was added as a destination from Cardiff before being dropped after less than 2 months, while Belfast flights were cancelled and Isle of Man flights ceased operating on Sunday 14 June. Until October 2015, the airline held a Type B operating licence issued by the UK

Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...

(CAA), authorising the company to operate flights with fewer than 20 passengers and/or weighing less than 10 tonnes, which were operated by its three

British Aerospace Jetstream 31 The British Aerospace Jetstream is a small twin-turboprop airliner, with a pressurised fuselage, developed as the ''Jetstream 31'' from the earlier Handley Page Jetstream. A larger version of the Jetstream was also manufactured, the British A ...

aircraft. On 21 October 2015 the CAA suspended the airline's operating certificate over safety concerns, stating that, "Safety is always our first priority and we will always take action when necessary to protect the travelling public." The Cardiff-Anglesey route was taken over by

North Flying North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

on behalf of Links Air on short notice. The route has since been operated by

Van Air Europe Van Air Europe is a Czech passenger and cargo charter airline headquartered in Brno and based at Brno–Tuřany Airport. History The airline was founded in 2004 by its parent company Aeroservis. On 15 July 2006, the airline began operating flig ...

and DragonFly Executive Air Charter, before returning to North Flying. Links Air withdrew its service without notice on 22 January 2016, The service was later run by

. Links Air was liquidated on 1 April 2016.

Destinations

Linksair - British Aerospace BAe-3102 Jetstream 31

Former destinations

;England *

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield Doncaster Sheffield Airport , formerly named and commonly referred to as Robin Hood Airport, is an unscheduled international airport closed to passenger traffic. The airport is located in Finningley near Doncaster in South Yorkshire, England. ...

HQ *

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

Norwich International Airport Norwich Airport is an international airport in Hellesdon, Norfolk, England, north of Norwich. In 2017, Norwich Airport was the 28th busiest airport in the UK and busiest in the East Anglia region. Norwich Airport has a CAA Public Use Aero ...

;

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

Ronaldsway Ronaldsway () is a place in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown. Features It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, to ...

Isle of Man Airport Isle of Man Airport ( Manx: ''Purt Aer Vannin'', also known as Ronaldsway Airport) is the main civilian airport on the Isle of Man. It is located in the south of the island at Ronaldsway near Castletown, southwest of Douglas, the island's c ...

''seasonal'' ;Northern Ireland *

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

George Best Belfast City Airport George Best Belfast City Airport is a single-runway airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated in County Down, it is adjacent to the Port of Belfast and is from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Spirit AeroSystems (form ...

; Wales *

Anglesey Airport Anglesey Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Ynys Môn) is an airport owned by the Isle of Anglesey County Council on land leased from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. The airport is situated at Llanfair-yn-Neubwll in Anglesey, Wales. The leased ...

Cardiff Airport Cardiff Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Caerdydd) is the only airport offering commercial passenger services in Wales. It has been under the ownership of the Welsh Government since March 2013, operating at an arm's length as a commercial business. Pa ...

base

Fleet

Accidents and incidents

*On 8 March 2012, a BAe Jetstream 31 of Links Air, operating Manx2 Flight 302 from Leeds-Bradford Airport, United Kingdom to Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, departed the runway on landing at Ronaldsway. The aircraft was substantially damaged when the starboard undercarriage collapsed due to corrosion-induced cracking. There were no injuries amongst the twelve passengers and two crew. *On 15 August 2014, the aircraft involved in the 2012 accident was damaged at Doncaster-Sheffield airport on a flight from Belfast following the failure of the port undercarriage. One passenger was taken to hospital for treatment and the airport was shut until the next day.

References

External links

* {{Airlines of the United Kingdom 1983 establishments in England Airlines established in 1983 Airlines disestablished in 2016 Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Companies based in Lincolnshire Companies based in Doncaster