After many profitable years, VLM Airlines, which was founded in 1993, ceased its operations on June 22, 2016. 160 employees of which 31 pilots are affected.

In 2015, the company recorded a 13-million euro loss  and 6 millions euro of accumulated debts. At the end of May 2016, the commercial court of Antwerp had granted to the company the protection against creditors for a duration of six months.

The difficult turboprop niche market, especially after the separation of VLM from Cityjet in 2014, can partially explain this sad outcome, along with a number of unfortunate decisions that contributed to make the situation worse:

• The certification problems of the SU Superjet 100 , airplane selected  to expand VLM’s fleet (SSJ100’s short take-off and landing capability was a central reason for its selection)
• The LGG project which was started up, then suddenly pulled back after one month in 2014. The company cited a badly studied market and insufficient marketing to support its four lines (Nice, Venice, Avignon and Bologna) which were stopped on 16 June after having been opened on 1 May.

Upon announcement of the news, BeCA immediately offered support to our VLM members. The 6 airplanes still owned by VLM (4 were already “sold and leased back”) can secure some form of financial assets.

For VLM pilots, the first priority is to be on the curators’ list. Therefore, they should make sure they get a correct end of contract form (C4) and are on the list of creditors. A BeCA legal briefing has been prepared for VLM members. Secondly, they must also ensure they get their training and qualification certificates, otherwise it could be difficult to prove experience to find a new job.

Furthermore, some BeCA members already voiced up their willingness to investigate further the real causes of this demise and the possible management responsibilities.