| Airline: | Ernest Airlines |
| Iata: | EG |
| Icao: | ERN |
| Callsign: | ERNEST |
| Founded: | 16 October 2015 |
| Commenced: | 1 July 2016 |
| Ceased: | 10 January 2020 |
| Headquarters: | Milan, Italy |
| Key People: | Chady El Tannir |
Ernest Airlines (registered as Ernest S.p.A.[1] [2]) was an Italian low-cost carrier,[3] headquartered in Milan. The airline briefly operated a fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft to over 20 destinations, mainly from its main base at Milan Malpensa Airport. Operations commenced in July 2016, but ceased in January 2020.
Founded on 16 October 2015 as Fly Ernest, Ernest Airlines was granted an AOC and an Operating License as an Italian Air Carrier on 11 April 2017. The company commenced operations serving the Italian-Albanian market, and entered the Ukrainian market on 20 October 2017.[4] It has since also added destinations to Romania and Spain from Italy to its schedule.[5] In 2017 the airline rebranded from Fly Ernest to Ernest Airlines. The company slogan was Fly with style in great company.
On 29 December 2019, the Italian Civil Aviation Authority announced that it would be suspending the airline's AOC on 13 January 2020 due to a lack of required guarantees.[6] On 11 January, the airline fully suspended their operations. As of 11 August, the carrier announced plans to restart operations as a regional carrier pending governmental agreement; the plans included converting their fleet from an all-Airbus A320 family to ATR72-600s, to fly to over 70 destinations.[7] The future resumption of services was due for consideration in the Milan Court in September 2020,[8] but no services were resumed.
Ernest Airlines operated to over 20 destinations in 5 countries. The airline operated most of their flights out of their main hub at Milan–Malpensa Airport.
Ernest operated the following aircraft at the time of closure:[9]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 1 | - | 141 | ||
| Airbus A320-200 | 3 | 3 | 180 | ||
| Total | 4 | 4 | |||