Regent Airways to be liquidated

Regent Airways (RGE, Dhaka) will be wound up over an unpaid aircraft lease. The airline, which ceased flight operations in March 2020, is one of eleven companies owned by Dhaka's Habib Group that are now being liquidated after Wilmington Trust Company initiated legal action against them in Bangladesh's High Court, reports ch-aviation.

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According to media Wilmington applied to wind up the companies after Regent Airways defaulted on its aircraft lease payments. The other ten companies had reportedly gone guarantor for Regent Airways. Besides Wilmington, the 11 companies owe a total of BDT30 billion taka (USD283.2 million) to assorted creditors, aviation and non-aviation related.

However, a search of the High Court's database suggests the dispute between Wilmington and Regent Airways goes back some years, with the matter of Wilmington Trust company vs Regent Airways and others (company matter 242/2020) having its first hearing back in November 2020.

"Because this issue is before the courts, Wilmington Trust has no comment on the matter," according to a Wilmington Trust spokesman.