The charter airline has had to postpone these plans indefinitely, however.

The charter airline joins a sorry and growing list of carriers that have gone under since the global recession gripped the industry late in 2008.

Analysts said that it had overreached itself for years, trying to be a premium carrier, budget and charter airline all in one.

The group began operating package holidays and launched its own in-house charter airline, in the early 1980s.

Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country, and may also include travel between areas as part of the holiday.