Cygnus Air (Corporación Ygnus Air) is a cargo airline based in Madrid, Spain. It is a privately owned airline operating scheduled flights to destinations mainly in Europe. Its main base is Madrid Barajas International Airport.[1] Founded in 1994 as Regional Líneas Aéreas, it has undergone a number of name changes along its history.
History
Foundation and early years
The airline was founded by Regional Airlines (France) together with the Spanish Gestair group as 'Regional Líneas Aéreas' in 1994. The airline operated scheduled passenger flights from Madrid with a fleet of Saab 340s.
In January 1998 Regional was renamed Cygnus Air and by November the airline shifted to full cargo operations. Its fleet consisted then of two Douglas DC-862F aircraft. In July 2002, a DC8-73F was phased in. At that time the airline was owned 60% by Macholfam International, a branch of the Gestair group, and 40% by Imesapi of the ACS group.[1]