Alaskan regional airline Kenai Aviation is shutting down, according to its official website.

In the statement posted to the site’s main page, owner Joel Caldwell explained that the airline is “financially insolvent” and will cease operations immediately.

“I am devastated,” Caldwell wrote. “Our operations may stop, but this vision continues.”

The statement cites legacy debt accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic and a sudden demand from its bank for repayment as reasons for the shutdown.

“For me, and for Kenai Aviation, the COVID [pandemic] gave us a debt load that we haven’t been able to get back on top of,” Caldwell said in the statement. “Carrying that burden increased the effects of every obstacle that we’ve had to navigate.”

The airline’s shutdown is expected to disrupt travel itin

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