Virgin Atlantic at Port Stanley Airport, and the time it would take to improve it, would render a route to the Falklands commercially unviable, thus the idea of such a service was dropped. In its place, Hellary and Fields commenced efforts to secure a licence to operate a route Gatwick Airport, London and John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. During May 1983, a three-day inquiry was conducted, which chose to reject the application following objections from British Airways, British Caledonian and BAA. Hellary and Fields then applied for a licence between Gatwick and Newark, New Jersey, using a 380-seat McDonnell
West Atlantic UK a further 6 BAe ATP freighters bringing the total orders to 11. In October 2008, it was announced that the airline would merge with West Air Sweden to form a new airline called West Atlantic with its headquarters in Sweden. On 8 December 2009, Atlantic Airlines' biggest base, Coventry Airport, was closed due to financial reasons causing Atlantic Airlines to cease all cargo flights to and from the airport. Atlantic Airlines moved all Coventry flights to Birmingham on a temporary basis as a result. However, the airline recommenced operations out of Coventry Airport due to the re-opening after it was