Alfor Aviation

to Invest in

Teesside Airport.

 Time to Get

the Flags out?

Photo by Daniel Eledut on Unsplash

Scott Hunter

3 August 2026

Alfor Aviation and Technical Services UK has announced plans to relocate its HQ to Teesside Airport, build hangars and workshops, bring 250 much needed skilled permanent jobs to the region, and invest £50 million. Thus, on 22 July, the Northern Echo, Teesside Live, and a host of others, and described by Teesside Airport Managing Director Phil Forster as “.. a landmark investment for Teesside Airport and another major endorsement of the ambitious growth strategy we have been delivering over recent years”.



European Cargo Limited, meanwhile, also announced plans to set up shop at Teesside Airport, as reported by the Northern Echo  and a host of other media on 3 March. That is, in the Echo’s words “leading UK-based global air freight carrier European Cargo … [whose] multi-million-pound investment will see the launch of five weekly cargo flights to a key strategic trade hub starting [in March]”

Teesside Airport Managing Director Phil Forster was cock-a-hoop, describing the deal as “a transformation agreement” and a “pivotal moment”. He is unlikely to have been quite so happy in June when the company went into administration, £2.1 million in debt to the airport. That debt appears in a document since published on Companies House by the administrator:

This demise of European Cargo so soon after it had set up shop at Teesside Airport raises the question of whether, in their rush to welcome a new investor, the airport management had been less diligent than they should have been when assessing the company’s viability.

In a separate document, issued on 24 July, the administrators warned that, while they are looking for a buyer for the company, unsecured creditors like Teesside Airport are unlikely to see any of their money back. European Cargo was largely financed through sister companies in the Republic of Ireland, from one of which it also leased its aircraft. Those companies went into liquidation in June this year and are also creditors of European Cargo.

There are two things that Teesside Airport negotiators might have considered worrying. One is that the company was loss-making and had been heavily in debt for some time (the accounts for 2024 record losses of $24 million USD). The other was that it only had a single client, as noted by the administrators. When, in March 2026, that client, based in China, demanded a price reduction, crisis at European Cargo ensued.

By the time it collapsed the company was operating from three regional airports – Bournemouth, Cardiff, and Teesside. The published of creditors shows that it was £582,000 in debt to Bournemouth and £25,000 to Cardiff. The company had used both of these airports for some years. This raises the question of how it managed to run up such a huge debt to Teesside in such a short time (Trade Magazine, Airways, observes that the last flight was recorded on 19 May. So, about eight weeks after it began operations at Teesside). How did the airport management allow the company to run up such a huge bill? Those, however, are questions that the TVCA’s Best Value Notice panel will need to ask. The powers that be at Teesside Airport don’t communicate with Tees Valley Monitor.

Following on from that, is the question of whether we should be joining in the celebrations around the imminent arrival of Alfor Aviation. Has the airport management team pulled it off this time, or this is another ‘European Cargo’ moment?

First the positives. Both European Cargo and Alfor convert ageing passenger aircraft for freight use. Both have developed systems that reduce the time it takes to make that conversion. Alfor, however, are working on the conversion of 2-engine Airbus 330/200 aircraft, while European Cargo used the 4-engine Airbus A340.

Trade magazine Aerospace Global News laid part of the blame for the demise of European Cargo on the fact that the four-engine aircraft were inefficient and had high fuel consumption. So, perhaps Alfor is off to a better start with the lighter 330/200 planes. Airways describes these as more efficient than the A340.

On the flip side is the fact that European Cargo, set up in 2020, was a fairly well-established company whose aircraft conversions already had all the necessary official permissions to operate. In fact, the administrators point out that these permissions are the company’s most attractive asset, as they can take a long time to obtain. Alfor, on the other hand, despite appearances, is a start up and its operating systems do not yet have official approval. They are currently in development somewhere in Portugal. So, it could be some time before the company can begin commercial operations. So, when will it be building the infrastructure of its new Teesside HQ? Will it be before or after its product is cleared by regulators?

One thing that we must all now be wary of are grandiose claims by mayor Houchen and his acolytes. We’ve had the GE megafactory building turbine blades at Teesworks, the consortium led by BP building a power station at Teesworks, a ten-year turnaround plan to make Teesside Airport commercially viable servicing the needs of 1.5 million flight passengers a year, all before the ‘transformational agreement’ with European Cargo, and all of it no more than hot air. So, we can be forgiven for taking Alfor’s ‘landmark investment’ with a pinch of salt.

And Alfor is as adept at bragging as its predecessor. Here is how they present themselves on their website (using a language similar to English):

It’s the ‘long lasting successful cooperation’ that caught our eye here, given that Foravia Ltd was only set up in August 2025. It has one director, Omer Mafa, whose career appears to be largely in sales. As for Alfor, in addition to Mr Mafa, there are two people from Alarko Holding (based in Istanbul) and one person with extensive experience in the aerospace industry, Ian Sidsaff.

The presence of Mr Sidsall is initially reassuring. But there are caveats. Under ‘More About us’ is the following statement:

Firstly, there are the 50 key staff. ICE Global Engineering Services’ filing on Companies House shows the following:

So, by 31 March 2025, the company had, not fifty, but four employees. Maybe they’ve had a recruitment drive since then.

Then there’s the registered business address, which is a) a house in Bournemouth and b) the same registered address as Alfor, which, rightly or wrongly, makes the whole thing seem a bit makeshift.

Then there are its directors – Ian Sidsaff and one Danielle Elizabeth Edwards. These are directors of a number of companies, most registered to the same address as Alfor and most of them to do with hairdressing.

ICE Global Engineering Services reported losses of £318,000 in 2025.

Here it’s not the loss that is striking but the very modest finances of a company now hitched up to Alarko, whose Wikipedia entry describes it as “one of the largest business conglomerates in Turkey”:

“Alarko Holding is one of the largest business conglomerates in Turkey. It is listed on the Borsa Istanbul (BIST). It operates in various sectors, including construction, electricity generation and distribution, tourism, and real estate. It was founded by İshak Alaton and Üzeyir Garih in 1954.”

On the other hand, Alarko Holding is definitely investing in Alfor. In 2024 it deposited just under £8 million in Alfor’s account:

While this shows that the company has some financial backing, we have to question just how much the process of obtaining regulatory approval for their loading system will cost and which must be obtained before any commercial operation can begin. The 250 jobs being trumpeted in the local press are beginning to look increasingly remote in time.

But at least, with the financial backing of a conglomerate like Alarko, there is the possibility that the company might build its own hangar, a rarity at Teesside Airport.



That leaves only the question of where the company’s facility is to be built. Will Alfor be venturing into the ample vacant land of the Southside Business Park? If so, they will be entering a zone controlled by developers, Corney and Musgrave. These developers have been the kiss of death to regeneration at Teesworks, notoriously enriching themselves while frightening off prospective businesses on the site. It remains to be seen whether this will also be Alfor’s fate.