A NEW airline which is offering flights from Southampton Airport could be on the brink of collapse.

The couple behind Powdair have asked for a £3m bail out before a single plane has left the runway.

Zoe Ombler and Nick Davis set up Powdair to fly skiers from six UK airports, including Southampton, to Sion in Switzerland.

Flights were due to start on Monday, December 11.

However, the company revealed earlier this week that its key financial backer had walked away and community ownership was its only option.

Chief financial officer Sean Pettit said the company needed £3m to fly this winter — and £1m yesterday, describing the situation as “potentially disastrous” for the company.

However, he added that refunds would be given to more than 5,000 people who had booked flights if Powdair failed to take off.

He said on Tuesday 134 potential investors had come forward, but warned: “Pledges do not represent a stake in Powdair.

“Failure of the airline in the next five years would mean loss of the funds with no realistic recovery.”

The news comes after the couple set up Scoot Ferries in 2015 – which briefly ran services between Yarmouth and Lymington and Cowes and Portsmouth before collapsing several weeks later.

Southampton Airport were asked for a response but refused to comment.