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Regional carrier wins new licence and avoids grounding

The Swiss regional airline SkyWork has been granted a fresh 12-month licence to operate short-haul flights after it found new investors to shore up its financial situation.

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A plane on the runway at Bern Airport

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Why Bern Airport struggles to take off

This content was published on SkyWork Airlines is currently grounded while its management tries to secure its financial future. Why do airlines in the Swiss capital struggle?

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The Federal Office of Civil Aviation announced on Tuesday that the carrier can resume flights, ending a three-day grounding of its planes.

SkyWork director Martin Inäbnit declined to give details on the new investors, while a spokesman denied that the new licence is linked to the speculation that two German logistics and maintenance companies were willing to save the regional carrier from bankruptcy.

With five planes and about 120 employees, SkyWork AirlinesExternal link is based at the airport of the Swiss capital, Bern.

 It has carried about 140,000 passengers this year, according to the company, and serves 17 European destinations – mainly in neighbouring Germany as well as in Austria, Britain and the Netherlands. During the summer months, it also operates flights to holiday destinations in the Mediterranean region.

SkyWork temporarily lost its licence because it could not provide sufficient funding to guarantee its 2017 and 2018 winter schedules.

Bern is Switzerland’s fourth airport after the hubs of Zurich, Geneva and Basel.

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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR