Chase Bank Limited (In Liquidation) has appointed Kamal Anantroy Bhatt of Anant Bhatt LLP as the Receiver and Manager of Five Forty Aviation Limited, the company behind the Fly540 airline brand.
In a notice published on August 3, Kamal Anantroy Bhatt confirmed that he was named the receiver of Five Forty Aviation Limited to take control of its affairs.
The notice said the appointment means the affairs and business of the company will now be directed by the receiver.
According to the notice, the receiver’s powers extend to all assets and undertakings of the company. Only the receiver and authorized representatives can deal with the company’s assets.
“The powers of the Directors in terms of dealing with the Company’s business and assets no longer apply,” the notice stated.
Any person who holds, receives, uses, buys, sells or otherwise deals with the company’s assets without prior written consent from the receiver risks legal action, the notice warned.
The development marks a major setback for a company that once played a key role in transforming air travel in Kenya through the Fly540 brand, which gained popularity by offering low-cost flights to domestic and regional destinations.
Creditors Given 30 Days
Creditors have been invited to lodge their claims with the receiver within 30 days from the date of the notice.
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Directors of the company have also been directed to furnish the receiver with a Statement of Affairs within 12 days.
The notice said the receiver acts on behalf of the company without personal liability.
All claims, queries and matters relating to the company are to be addressed to the receiver through Anant Bhatt LLP in Mombasa.
Five Forty Aviation is best known as the company behind the Fly540 brand, one of Kenya’s pioneering low-cost airlines.
The carrier launched operations in 2006 and became a familiar player in the domestic aviation market.
The Rise of the Fly540 Brand
The company later expanded its network to destinations including Kisumu, Malindi and Lamu before extending services to regional markets such as Uganda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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The company attracted investment from Lonrho Africa, which acquired a 49 percent stake, helping drive its expansion in East Africa.
In 2012, British aviation firm Rubicon Diversified Investments, later renamed Fastjet Plc, acquired Fly540’s African aviation business in a deal valued at about $85.7 million (Ksh11.072B).
Fastjet intended to use Fly540 as the foundation for a pan-African low-cost airline modeled on European budget carriers.
However, the acquisition became the subject of a long-running dispute after disagreements emerged over the completion of parts of the transaction and the rights attached to some of the airline businesses.
The fallout resulted in years of commercial and ownership wrangles that clouded the future of parts of the Fly540 network even as Fastjet pursued expansion across Africa.
Five Forty Aviation has faced legal challenges in recent years, including a high-profile employment dispute involving former Corporate Quality Manager Stirling Dyer.
In a ruling by the Employment and Labour Relations Court, the company was found to have constructively dismissed Dyer after delaying salary payments, failing to remit agreed allowances and insurance benefits, and later reducing his pay during the Covid-19 period.
The court awarded Dyer more than KSh19.8 million, after which company director Donald Earle Smith was arrested and later released on a personal bond of Ksh1 million in proceedings linked to enforcement of the judgment.
The case drew fresh attention to the airline operator’s financial obligations and corporate challenges.
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