Direct flights to Manchester will be stopped

Operators believed they could sustain a twice-daily trip to Manchester, for people to catch connecting flights from the city.

But they have been disappointed by the level of interest.

Air Wales launched in November 1999. While 15 other airlines flew from Cardiff International Airport, it was the only indigenous Welsh airline.

The company is based at Cardiff International Airport and is directed by Captain John Howard Evans.

In March 2001, Air Wales announced it was considering a route from Cardiff to New York's Newark International Airport.

But, while some of the popular budget airlines do not fly from Cardiff, the company has found the going tough.

Air Wales is still looking into transatlantic flights

There have not been enough takers of the service to the north of England to sustain the flight.

Air Wales's other main route from Cardiff to Cork has proved to be much more profitable and is set to continue.

On the back of its success - it carried 12,000 passengers in the first six months - the company has looked at flying to other UK airports, including Belfast, Stansted and Luton.

And there are hopes to bring Haverfordwest and Caernarfon on board as satellite airports to create a pan-Wales air service.

New company

Air Wales took over where the former Cambrian Airways left off 30 years ago.

Cambrian had used Viscount aircraft to fly from Cardiff to places like Jersey and Malaga back in the 1960s.

Cambrian disappeared when it merged into British Airways more than 30 years ago and Wales was without a national airline until Air Wales stepped up.

The company uses 19-seat Fairchild Dornier 228 aircraft and hoped to double its fleet to four this summer.