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An airline has cancelled all flights with immediate effect after plunging into liquidation. It has been confirmed the airline will return its fleet of planes and give up its UK Air Operator's Certificate (AOC).

Ascend Airways, which was founded in 2004 but operated under its current name for just three years, operated flights from Gatwick Airport and Stansted Airport. As a "wet-lease" carrier, the airline supplied aircraft to carriers including Oman Air, Air Sierra Leone and TUI Airways. However, it recently plunged into liquidation, ceasing all operations and cancelling flights.

As reported by Metro, Ascend Airways has given up its UK Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), a document that every airline needs in order to operate commercial flights in the UK. According to company insiders, an email was sent to staff which cited economic pressures, including the impact of the conflict in Iran on the jet fuel crisis, for the shutdown.

Staff were then told that the airline would cease operations after their final flight with Oman Air had landed from Muscat at Stansted Airport on Thursday (April 30).

However, it has been confirmed the airline's Malaysian arm will remain unaffected. The airline said in a LinkedIn post: "Ascend Airways Malaysia remains operationally stable, continues to meet all its contractual obligations and is progressing on-track with communicated expansion plans."

A source previously said: "It's gone bust today, we got the news this afternoon. We've all been given the letters that it's all going into liquidation."

They added: "It's to do with the economy, we couldn't get contracts, the UK is a lot more expensive than Europe. The fuel situation had a massive effect on it as well."

The situation has left staff concerned about their wages, with one saying: "We're not going to get paid for May and we have to go through the liquidators. You could get up to £750 a week but we're not going to get the full amount we're owed."

Ascend Airways originally launched in 2004 under Synergy Aviation before rebranding in 2023. At the time of its collapse, it operated a fleet of one Boeing 737-800 and six Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.