LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Lincoln’s new flight service, Red Way, is shutting down and all flights booked after Aug. 31 have been cancelled.

Red Way announced Wednesday that it is ceasing operations and that customers will receive full refunds.

“Customers do not need to do anything to initiate their refund, this will be done automatically,” Red Way posted in a statement on Facebook. “We expect all refunds to be complete by the end of the week, the amount of time it takes for a refund to reflect in your account is dependent on your financial institution.”

The new flights took off in June, but the airline has said the demand hasn’t been there for some of their destinations. They’ve had to drop flights and offer major discounts - some as low as $49 - to try and fill seats.

“...we face insurmountable challenges as a small startup in our industry, and the compounding of costs and lack of resources have made it impossible for us to sustain operations. It is our hope that other carriers see the incredible potential, and with their economies of scale, are able to provide Lincoln with the service it is so worthy of.” - Red Way

In late July when the airline announced it was dropping its flights to Minneapolis, Atlanta and Austin, Red Way CEO Nick Wangler said they had offered BOGO sales as a last ditch effort to boost sales but it didn’t work.

Red Way Airlines is a partnership between the Lincoln Airport, GlobalX Air Tours and Global Crossing Airlines that was announced back in March with goals of gaining tourism to other places, but also encouraging people to travel to Lincoln.

In a statement to media, the Lincoln Airport said in part, “This is extremely disheartening for the airport after all the efforts the community, city, county, airport authority board members and employees have put towards bringing affordable, new air service to Lincoln.”

The chartered flights were made possible by $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, where both the city council and the county board each funded $1.5 million.

“The financial support that Lancaster County and the City of Lincoln committed through the American Rescue Plan Act, coupled with the unrelenting efforts of the Airport, Chamber of Commerce, University of Nebraska, LNK passengers and others, ensured that everything possible that could be done to see the effort succeed had been done.” - Lincoln Airport