Cargologic Air went into administration in mid-November after a shareholder was sanctioned by the UK government in June over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four months earlier.
The measures meant the carrier, which was launched in 2015 and described itself as “the only British all-cargo main deck freight airline”, could not continue to operate, according to administrators Buchler Phillips.
“The company has been unable to trade effectively since its majority shareholder and former director, a Cypriot national, was made the subject of UK government sanctions against businesses deemed Russian controlled following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022”, Buchler Phillips said earlier in the month.
CLA operated from Heathrow Airport, and before the sanctions were imposed, had “employed more than 100 people”, Buchler Phillips said, adding that the freighter “made a profit of £41m on turnover of £149m in 2020”.
David Buchler of Buchler Phillips said at the time that the outcome was the “unintended consequence of sanctions generally applied against British businesses perceived as Russian controlled”.
The sanctioned shareholder in question is believed to be Alexey Isaikin, founder of Volga-Dnepr Airlines, which was said by the UK government earlier this year to be “contracted by the Russian government to create air bridges that carry critical goods”.
