Baltia Airlines: The airline that has never flown a single passenger in 27 years

A US airline, which was founded in 1989 with the aim of offering a "high quality three-class passenger service" has just taken its only aircraft out of service – despite having never operated a single commercial flight in its 27-year history. Baltia Airlines started with great promise. It aimed to offer the only non-stop flight from New York to St Petersburg, as well as holiday packages, a frequent flier programme and a concierge service, but it is yet to carry a single passenger or package. The airline, which officially operates from JFK and has another base in Michigan's Willow Run Airport, claims it is still awaiting its operational approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)... after 27 years. The airline is said to have failed the evaluation from the FAA seven times, apparently due to a problem with the deployment of its aircraft slides, Michigan Radio reported last month. The carrier is said to have moved its operations to Michigan where it is apparently easier to gain FAA approval than in New York, where Baltia failed all of its certification tests, according to the radio station. Baltia, which has earned no revenue since its inception, has accumulated a debt of more than $US119m.<br/>