Proteus Airlines
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Airline |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Fate | Merged into Régional |
| Headquarters | Saint-Apollinaire, Côte-d'Or and Saint-Étienne , France |
| Products | Regional airline services |
Proteus Airlines was a regional airline based in France, with its main offices located in Saint-Apollinaire, Côte-d'Or, close to Dijon, as well as in Saint-Étienne.[1] The company was founded in 1986 and continued operations until it merged into Régional in 2001.[2]
History
The airline was originally created in 1986 under the name Proteus Air System and commenced scheduled flights as Proteus Airlines in May 1996. The following year, it took over the regional carrier Air Transport Pyrénées, acquiring its fleet of Beech 1900 and Beech King Air aircraft, and entered into a franchise partnership with Air France. In October 1999, Proteus further expanded by purchasing the regional airline Flandre Air.[1] On 30 March 2001, Proteus combined forces with Flandre and Regional Airlines to create Régional, which itself was later integrated into HOP! in 2013.[3] In 1996, the airline carried roughly 50,000 passengers.[4]
Incidents and accidents
On 30 July 1998, a Beechcraft 1900D operating as Proteus Airlines Flight 706 on a route from Lyon to Lorient in Brittany, collided mid-air with a privately operated Cessna 177RG above Quiberon Bay, resulting in the deaths of all 15 individuals aboard both planes. The accident was primarily caused by the crew of the 1900D diverting their flight path for sightseeing around the SS Norway, during which they failed to adhere to the see and avoid rule mandated under visual flight regulations. Furthermore, the pilot of the Cessna had not switched on the transponder, making the aircraft undetectable by radar.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedRegionalmerge - ↑ "Proteus Airlines va faire de Saint-Etienne le centre de son réseau national". Les Echos (in français). 13 May 1997. p. 15.