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The story
The airline was founded in June 1999 (1999-06). Authorisation to launch services was given by the government in August 1999 (1999-08); operations started that month. A Boeing 737-400 was leased from Pegasus Airlines late that year. In 2001, Khalifa Airways ordered three Airbus A340-300 aircraft, along with five A330-200s and ten A320s, scheduled for delivery in 2004.
The airline was liquidated by a French court on 10 July 2003 after it failed to make a €5 million payment to creditors.
Khalifa Airways is also known for having been the sponsor of Olympique de Marseille from 2001 to 2003.
On March 22, 2007, the International Herald Tribune reported that the company's founder had been convicted in absentia and sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the 2003 failure of Khalifa Bank and associated companies, including Khalifa Airways.
From Wikipedia’s article on Khalifa Airways, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4