A major airline company has plunged into administration as it cancelled all its commercial flights. Royal Air Philippines has cancelled all of its commercial flights with over 3500 passengers affected.

According to the reports, the Manila-based airline's halt stranded roughly 3,000 to 4,000 passengers holding bookings from January through March, all seeking refunds and new travel options. The airline's website says: "We are working on providing refunds and hope to resume flights at an unspecified date in the future. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We eagerly anticipate welcoming you aboard soon."

Royal Air's CEO Eduardo Novillas had already signaled weak demand weeks earlier. In a letter to a travel agency ahead of Christmas, he warned the carrier would halt commercial flights by January 4, Philstar reported.

Novillas pointed to "significantly low" interest from key markets. Asian Development Bank economist Jules Hugot noted arrivals from China to the Philippines remained well below pre Covid pandemic figures entering early 2025.

Royal Air Philippines, often referred to simply as Royal Air, is owned by the Cambodiaregistered Lanmei Group, also known as the LancangMekong Group.

The airline is backed by Chinese investment and was founded by Li Kun, the former president of Shenzhen Airlines, who now serves as its chairman.

Originally launched in 2002 as a charter operator, Royal Air shifted toward a lowcost carrier model in 2018 after receiving its commercial flight licence the previous year.

Its first passenger service took off eight years ago, and at its peak the airline operated routes to several international destinations, including Cambodia, China, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

The update comes just weeks after British green investor Dale Vince abandoned his earlier ambition to launch the UK's first zeroemission airline. His plan had been to acquire older Twin Otter and ATR 72 aircraft and convert their kerosenepowered engines to run on hydroelectric technology, but the project was ultimately shelved before it could move forward.