The Breton airline Céleste, founded in 2021 to provide a connection between Brest and Paris-Orly, announced its placement in receivership on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
An article from Franceinfo, corroborated by another article in LeFigaro, highlights that the Brest commercial court has opened a judicial recovery procedure which ensures ""to continue the work in progress with its financial and commercial partners, aimed at obtaining rapid approval of the operating license and the launch of the company's operations .
“With a first plane and a team, the Celeste company still has an operational air transport tool ready to be deployed.”
According to Franceinfo, The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) estimated at the end of March that the company had not raised enough funding to be authorized to launch. According to the DGAC,
Celeste was missing “between 30 and 40%” of the acceptable initial financing threshold.
The company was largely supported by local authorities, with repayable advances voted by the urban community of Morlaix - 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) - and Brest metropolis - 500,000 euros ($540,000) - while the Brittany region had promised 1 million euros ($1 million) and the department of Finistère 500,000 euros ($540,000).
In a press release seen by Franceinfo, Brest Métropole has ensured that the 500,000 euros it has granted for Céleste “are still placed in an escrow account"", their payment being ""subject to obtaining the operating license"" by the regional company.
Céleste, which initially aimed to take over the Brest-Orly connection “abandoned” by Air France, Transavia and Chalair, is now focused on a Brest-Nice after losing its airport slots at Orly due to failure to use them last summer, according to the DGAC.
Céleste in receivership without ever launching flight
