Aer Southeast, which was due to start flights from Waterford Airport to Britain this month, said it is to refund all the fares accepted for flights on the day its website was operational.
It said it made the decision in view of the request it received from the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) not to accept bookings for its new services without the required licence. The airline said it is still fully committed to operating services to London Luton, Manchester and Birmingham when it sorts out the licence issue.
Aer Southeast chief executive Einar Adalsteinsson apologised for the inconvenience caused to customers and said they would be 100pc reimbursed, with refunds made using electronic transfer to the customer’s bank or credit card account.
“Aer Southeast remains fully committed to operating flights between Waterford, London-Luton, Manchester and Birmingham, and we will work closely with CAR in the coming weeks to ensure that the correct licensing system is put in place. “Once we are in a position to recommence taking bookings, we will communicate with our customers immediately.
Aer Southeast
“I want to personally thank the very significant number of customers who booked with us on our opening day and those who supported us through our recent difficulties, particularly the management team at Waterford Airport.” he said.
Waterford Airport said it “regrets that Aer Southeast will not be a position to operate services on July 24 as originally planned. Waterford Airport welcomes Aer Southeast’s decision at this time to refund all monies accepted for fares by intending passengers on their air services.
“Nevertheless, Waterford Airport looks forward to working closely with Aer Southeast once the company has acquired the correct licence from the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) that will allow it to sell air tickets for the destinations of London Luton, Manchester and Birmingham.”
Mr Adalsteinnson added: “We are heartened by the positive response we have received from the people of the region and from further afield and despite the less-than-ideal position we have found ourselves in recently, we are fully confident that there is a lot of demand for our services and a lot of goodwill towards the Aer Southeast and Waterford Airport.
“It is now clear that we will not be able to launch our services on July 24 as originally planned but we look forward to welcoming our customers aboard our maiden flight later on this summer.”
