Kirkbi A/S, the family-owned investment group and majority shareholder of the LEGO Group, will close the company's corporate jet division by February 28, 2025, Danish news website BillundOnline.dk reported.
"The decision to close the aircraft department follows a sharp decline in demand for Kirkbi’s corporate aircraft in recent years, coupled with an increased focus on sustainability and CO2 emissions reduction, making it unsustainable to maintain," the company told the outlet.
The department comprises 16 employees, who will be laid off, a hangar and an administration building at Billund, and three aircraft that make up the corporate fleet, exclusively composed of Dassault Aviation jets, namely:
- Falcon 2000LXS OY-CKK (msn 281), 10.1 years old, configured for up to 10 passengers;
- Falcon 7X OY-EKC (msn 121), 13.8 years old, configured for up to 14 passengers;
- Falcon 8X OY-SKK (msn 417), 7.6 years old, configured for up to 14 passengers.
All the aircraft are operated by Air Alsie and have recently been active under the company's 'MMD' code. Although primarily used by Kirkbi's and LEGO Group's management and employees, the jets were also available for charter. Kirkbi has already reached an agreement with Danish-operator Blackbird Air to take over one aircraft, though details remain undisclosed. The remaining two jets are slated for sale, and the company is considering renting out the facilities at Billund.
LEGO's aviation arm has been active for 63 years and played a key role in the development of Billund airport. In 1961, company founder's son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, established a private 800-metre-long runway and aircraft hangar north of the LEGO factory. This initiative laid the foundation for the public airport, which was inaugurated in 1964.
In 2023, another Danish company, shipping giant A.P. Moller - Maersk, took a similar decision by discontinuing executive jet operations for corporate travel.
