Former F1 team boss Stoddart to take off again with European Cargo airline

Paul Stoddart, the former Formula One team boss, is closing in on a deal to reacquire a freight airline set up during the COVID pandemic to help the government import medical equipment from the Far East.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Stoddart's company, European Aviation, is on the brink of concluding a transaction to buy back Bournemouth-based European Cargo, more than two months after it was forced to call in administrators.

Aviation industry sources said a deal could be announced as soon as Thursday.

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The company has served as an important freight player both on the south coast and on Teesside in the north-east, where it also operates.

One industry insider said the deal would include roughly 16 aircraft, seven of which are understood to be flight-ready.

In April 2020, Mr Stoddart emblazoned an Airbus A340 with the message 'Thank you, NHS', with the aircraft carrying thousands of surgical gowns imported from China.

A further flight arrived from Malaysia the following day with thousands of boxes of medical gloves.

If completed, a deal will reunite European Cargo with its founder, who sold 49% of the business in 2022 and the remaining 51% stake two years later.

In June, close to 200 employees were made redundant when Teneo was appointed to handle European Cargo's insolvency.

Its collapse followed a period of weak demand and rising fuel costs.

European Aviation - also known as European Aviation Air Charter, or EAAC - was formed in 1989 by Mr Stoddart, whose other ventures in the industry included Ozjet, a business class-only carrier which operated between Melbourne and Sydney.

He also sponsored a number of motor racing teams, before going on to buy the Minardi F1 outfit in 2001.

He sold it four years later to Red Bull, which went on to become one of the sport's most successful constructors in the subsequent two decades.

Neither Mr Stoddart nor the administrators could be reached for comment on Wednesday evening.

(c) Sky News 2026: Former F1 team boss Stoddart to take off again with European Cargo airline