Irish carrier collapses; 400 passengers stranded

The Irish airline Jetmagic has reportedly collapsed after losing more than GBP7.5 million since it was launched last April. The online news service Ireland Online reports that the collapse of the Cork-based carrier has left some 400 passengers stranded abroad, and will mean the loss of more than 100 jobs. A statement issued by the company said it has proved not to be a viable operation and that it had not attracted enough passengers. The carrier’s chief executive Barry Perrott reportedly said: “It is a tough job to persuade businesses to move from their traditional operations, particularly when a lot of airlines tie up businesses in global travel deals. Once somebody tried us, they came back – people loved the service – but the problem was getting people to try us in the first place.” The news flies in the face of a statement by the carrier, as recently as 17 January, in which it “dismissed question marks over its performance and said it was happy with the progress of its latest attempt to secure extra funding”.