Swisscargo, the air freight arm of bankrupt Swissair, is to shut down operations at the end of March, after failing to set up a successor cargo service. It hopes that Crossair, Swissair's former regional subsidiary and now its successor on medium- and long-haul services, will re-employ most of its workforce in its own planned cargo arm.
Swisscargo chances of survival have looked slim since December, when Crossair announced that Swisscargo should not count on receiving its custom, as it was still looking at various options to offer a freight service out of Switzerland. The statement came as a serious setback - Swiss businessman Branco Weiss, who headed a group of investors set to turn Swisscargo into an independent cargo carrier, had previously said that Crossair's custom was a precondition for success. In the event Crossair has opted to set up its own operation.
Swisscargo was granted court protection from creditors on 8 December 2001, which would have run to June this year. However, the company announced that in order to preserve its assets, it would wind up operations by 31 March. The company employs 440 people, 153 in Switzerland and 287 elsewhere.
Crossair will take over Swissair's passenger operations on 31 March, and has promised to maintain Swisscargo's services and offer Swisscargo's staff contracts with its cargo arm, which is still unnamed.
Source: Flight International
