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Commenced operations | 1985 | ||||||
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Ceased operations | 2001 | ||||||
Parent company | Air France | ||||||
Headquarters | Saint-Apollinaire, Côte-d'Or, France |
Proteus Airlines was a French regional airline with its head offices in Saint-Apollinaire, Côte-d'Or, France, near Dijon, and in Saint-Étienne. Founded in 1986, it remained operational until 2001.
The airline was originally known as Proteus Air System. In May 1996, it began scheduled services under its new name. In August 1997, the airline signed a franchise agreement with Air France. In October 1999 Proteus acquired another regional airline, Flandre Air. On 30 March 2001, Proteus, Flandre, and Regional Airlines merged into Régional Compagnie Aérienne Européenne.
On July 30, 1998, a Beechcraft 1900D operating as Proteus Airlines Flight 706 collided with a privately owned Cessna 177RG over Quiberon Bay, killing all 15 people on board both aircraft. The biggest contributing factor to the accident was the crew of the 1900D electing to take a detour while on approach to land and not using the See and Avoid concept when they were operating under Visual Flight Rules.