EcoJet Airlines, the Edinburgh-based carrier that aimed to become the world’s first fully electric airline, has collapsed into voluntary liquidation after failing to secure £20million in funding.
The Scottish start-up, established in 2023 by entrepreneur Dale Vince OBE, never launched commercial passenger services before entering liquidation.
Mr Vince, who has donated more than £5million to the Labour Party and is the owner of Forest Green Rovers football club, co-founded the company alongside pilot Brent Smith with plans to transform the aviation industry through electric flight technology.
Court documents filed in late January show a petition was submitted to Edinburgh Sheriff Court seeking to wind up the company and appoint interim liquidators.
The board subsequently moved to place the business into voluntary liquidation, bringing an abrupt end to the venture.
EcoJet had outlined plans to convert conventional aircraft using hydrogen-electric powertrains designed to deliver the same performance as traditional engines while eliminating carbon dioxide emissions.
The company’s first planned route was intended to connect Edinburgh and Southampton.
Further expansion had been planned into European destinations, with longer international routes considered as the technology developed.
At the launch of the airline, Mr Vince said: “This is a vital frontier in the move to net zero, green living, whatever you choose to call it – and it’s absolutely doable. It’s a matter of when, not if.”
The start-up never launched commercial passenger services before entering liquidation
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GETTY/Ecojet
Environmental claims formed a central part of the company’s strategy, with EcoJet stating retrofitting existing aircraft rather than building new planes could prevent around 90,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
The technology proposed by the company would produce water vapour as the only byproduct.
EcoJet said this vapour would be captured and released into the lower atmosphere in order to limit the formation of contrails.
Paul Dounis and Mark Harper, from Opus Restructuring, were appointed as provisional liquidators to oversee the winding-up process.
A wall at Mr Vince’s Forest Green Rovers football club
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Opus Restructuring confirmed EcoJet operated as a start-up company and did not possess significant assets.
A statement from the firm said: “The members have elected to fund the liquidation process to ensure that the company’s employees receive their full statutory entitlements.”
This arrangement means employees will receive their statutory payments despite the company entering liquidation.
The collapse marks a swift end for the aviation venture, which existed for just under three years and never carried a paying passenger.
Domestic services had originally been scheduled to launch in 2024.
However, technological challenges and regulatory requirements meant the airline was unable to begin operations.
Mr Vince said the project had encountered delays in aligning technology development with regulatory approvals.
Speaking to The Herald, he said: “We remain committed to electrifying all forms of transport – aviation is the last frontier and the hardest. It’s taking longer than we hoped to get the technology and regulatory pieces of the puzzle in alignment, and so we’re pausing work at this time.”
EcoJet is among several UK airlines that have ceased trading in recent months.
Dale Vince said aviation remains the most difficult form of transport to transfer to electricity
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Data from the UK Civil Aviation Authority shows three other carriers entered liquidation during 2025.
These included Blue Islands Limited and Air Kilroe Limited, which traded as Eastern Airways, both of which entered liquidation in November.
Play Airlines also ceased operations earlier in the year in September.
The closure of EcoJet highlights the challenges facing new aviation ventures attempting to develop low-emission technologies while navigating regulatory requirements and the significant costs involved in launching airline operations.
