Wijet, the on-demand private charter business, has announced that it will cease its UK operations and head in a different direction less than a year after ordering 16 new HondaJet aircraft.
It was reported that outgoing CEO, Patrick Hersent, confirmed to a website that he resigned around two weeks ago and has now since left.
It was reported that the company had been struggling to pay salaries and fuel bills for a number of months. The company has given up its Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
It was confirmed by the co-founder of Wijet, Alexandre Azoulay, that the deicison to cease UK operations and give up the AOC was partly driven by Brexit and the uncertainty this has caused in Europe.
The outgoing CEO also mentioned that the European side of the business will continue, although the plan to finance it is currently unclear.
Wijet stated that the UK market only accounted for 10% of its business and as Brexit continues, this market continues to diminish in importance.
Although there has been concerns within the company for a while, EVA magazine was in contact with Hersent at the most recent EBACE event in Geneva. It seems like he left the company in good spirits.
What will happen to the HondaJet aircraft order still remains uncertain.