Malta-based Universal Air has stopped scheduled operations just 15 month after starting.

The airline had taken a gap in the market left by the demise of Malta Air. Moving away from charter flights, the carrier replaced its sole DHC-8-100 with three much newer DHC-8-400s. It flew to destinations around Europe such as Munich, Palermo and Pécs in Hungary.

However, the realities of operating an airline in the modern era seem to have caught up with it. The airline’s website has been replaced with a holding page, while information from IBA Insight says that the airline moves to charter and ACMI service from the start of June.

Rival Maltese operator HelloFly  has moved into the void left by Universal’s exit and has acquired an ATR-72 from Aeroitalia Regional to cover some of its routes.