Flamingo Air, a small regional airline in The Bahamas, has been grounded for most of July after an accident on the tenth of the month claimed the lives of all 10 people aboard.
An early report of the crash found that the twin-engine Cessna 402 operated by the airline “encountered difficulties” before crashing into the bushes near San Andros Airport (MYAN) from which it was flying from the Bahamian capital city Nassau. Flamingo Air was founded in 1995 to connect locals and travelers to some of the more remote islands making up the archipelagic country in The Caribbean. It also flew to a few international destinations including South Florida and Cuba at different points in the year.
Immediately after the crash and pending an investigation, the Bahamian Ministry of Aviation temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s AOC, or the operating certificate that each airline needs to sell commercial flights to passengers, “as a precautionary safety measure.”
Flamingo Air lays off 35 employees as fallout from deadly Independence Day crash continues
This means that no Flamingo Air flights have been able to run over the last two weeks and, as was first reported by local news outlets, the carrier has now furloughed 35 employees working for it in both crew and administrative roles.
Bahamian Labour Minister Pia Glover-Rolle confirmed the layoffs to Nassau-based The Tribune while neither the Bahamian Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority nor the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas have as of July 27 provided any new comment on the results of the investigation into the accident.
Related: Airline shuts down, all flights grounded after accident
The crash also coincided with the 53rd investigation of Bahamian independence and was described as a “day of celebration [that] has become a day of mourning” by Prime Minister Philip Davis.
An earlier statement from Flamingo Air extended “thoughts and prayers […to] the families who have been impacted by this incident” and said that it was fully cooperating with the investigation. The airline also said that it had begun issuing refunds for passengers with canceled flights on July 13.
Flamingo Air
What is happening with the investigation into the Flamingo Air crash
Along with the pilot of the aircraft, the passengers killed included local Da Pond Band members Giovanni McKenzie, Rashad Storr, Mateo Winder, Toniquea Gilot and Tra’vis Johnson and several local Andros residents including 16-year-old Nicholas Oliver Jr.
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As of July 17, both the Flamingo Air website and all of the airline’s social media accounts have either been deleted or made private. It is not clear when or whether the airline will be cleared to fly again.
With Flamingo Air’s safety record now in the spotlight following the accident, the airline had 14 documented accidents or safety incidents since its launch including another Cessna plane that caught fire at the airport in Nassau just a few hours before the fatal Andros crash.
“At this time, the details are being gathered, and we are committed to cooperating with the relevant authorities,” Flamingo Air said in the statement released immediately after the crash.
