Vincent Aviation (Australia) Grounded and Receivers Appointed

The Australian arm of New Zealand-based regional airline Vincent Aviation has entered receivership, with all flights cancelled with immediate effect and the futures of the airline’s 80 staff thrown into question.

A statement from Vincent Aviation stated that on Wednesday 28 May, receivers and managers of Vincent Aviation (Australia) were appointed and immediately took action to cease trading while an urgent assessment of the business and its operations is undertaken.  Thus, all flights have been cancelled effective immediately until further notice.

The statement makes clear any likelihood of Vincent returning to the air, at least in the near term, is slight.

Vincent’s Australian operations are based in Darwin. It employs 80 staff in Australia, operating a fleet of four SAAB 340 and five Beech 1900D turboprops and a single BAe 146-200 on a mix of RPT and Fly-in Fly-out (FIFO) and other charter services.

Flight tracking websites recently showed that Vincent Aviation’s New Zealand-registered BAe 146-200, ZK-ECO, which has been noted numerous times in Central Queensland operating FIFO charter flights from Brisbane, flew from Brisbane to Wellington on Wednesday afternoon.  Moreover, unconfirmed reports suggest that the airline’s SAAB 340s and Beech 1900Ds are being ferried to Townsville for storage.

Vincent Aviation was founded by managing director Peter Vincent in 1990, and is headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand. The appointment of receivers to the Australian operation does not include or affect the New Zealand operations of Vincent Aviation Limited.

File photos taken by 'AC' and Don Williams  ©