Emery grounds air fleet

Chutta Ratnathicam, Emery Worldwide CEO, stressed in a statement to the press that there would be “no disruption of service” for Emery’s customers, noting that other aircraft operators have been hired in the interim to handle Emery freight.

The carrier voluntarily ground its fleet after FAA concluded its planes suffered from “maintenance irregularities” after four inspections over the past year and a half.

The shutdown is the latest in a string of bad news from Emery. The company lost in excess of $25 million in the second quarter of this year and was on track to lose between $8 million to $10 million in the third quarter, according to CNF.

Emery also lost a contract with the U.S. Postal Service in May to carry Priority Mail. The contract, which would have run through 2004, was scrapped when the postal service reached a deal with Emery rival FedEx.