Edinburgh, Feb 5, 2026, 18:25 GMT
- A court appointed a provisional liquidator to Ecojet Airlines, Companies House filings show
- Vince paused investment as funding, technology and regulatory hurdles mounted
- Liquidators said the start-up had no material assets and never launched flights
Ecojet Airlines Ltd, a Scotland-based start-up backed by green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince, is being wound up after a court appointed a provisional liquidator, a Companies House filing showed. A provisional liquidator is an insolvency specialist who takes control while the court process runs.
The failure lands at a tricky moment for small aviation projects trying to cut emissions on short routes by swapping out jet fuel. Ecojet struggled to raise funds, including £10 million required by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, Daily Business reported. Vince said he had paused his investment, adding “aviation is the last frontier and the hardest” and that cleaner flying was “a matter of when, not if”. Daily Business
Ecojet had yet to carry paying passengers, limiting immediate disruption for travellers. But it had reportedly tried to raise about £20 million to get flying before a court appointed liquidators, Deadline News reported.
Provisional liquidators Paul Dounis and Mark Harper from Opus Restructuring & Insolvency have been appointed to Ecojet, FlightGlobal reported. Opus said the company was a “start-up business” with “no material assets” and that members elected to fund the process so employees receive statutory entitlements. Flight Global
Ecojet Airlines Limited was incorporated in August 2021 and previously traded as Fresh Airlines Limited, Companies House records show. The company lists its registered office in Edinburgh.
On its website, Ecojet says it is based in Edinburgh and plans to connect UK cities with “zero-carbon flights”. It said it aimed to start with 19-seat aircraft using ZeroAvia’s ZA600 hydrogen-electric engine for routes of up to 300 miles, then move to larger planes capable of routes up to 1,000 miles. Ecojet
TheStreet, writing for a U.S. audience, described the move as the British equivalent of Chapter 7 — the U.S. bankruptcy process for liquidation rather than restructuring. It said the airline never got off the ground as investors failed to materialise.
In the UK, courts can appoint a provisional liquidator after a winding-up petition is filed, mainly to protect assets and records before a company is formally wound up, according to The Gazette. It is typically a holding move, not a rescue plan.
Hydrogen-electric aviation aims to replace jet fuel with hydrogen, often using fuel cells to generate electricity for an electric motor, the International Air Transport Association says. The approach can eliminate in‑flight carbon dioxide emissions, but it still requires new certification pathways and airport-side infrastructure.
But for Ecojet’s creditors, recoveries look uncertain if the company has few assets to sell, and any revived attempt to launch flights would still need fresh capital and regulator sign-off. Timetables for new propulsion systems have slipped before, and funding can evaporate fast.
The liquidators will now assess the company’s position and handle claims from creditors and employees. Ecojet’s future plans are unclear, and any restart would depend on financing — and approvals — that never arrived the first time.
