PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Montenegro Airlines ceased its operations on Saturday after the small nation’s new government refused to continue financing the indebted nationwide carrier.

The airline which was shaped 25 years ago has apologized to its passengers for the sudden termination of all flights and thanked them for “the years of belief, travel, and friendship.”

The company that operated a small fleet of Embraer 195 and Fokker 100s and flew to many European capitals is estimated to have accrued over 150 million euros in debt which grew further with the collapse of the summertime tourist season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Montenegro’s new conservative government, which last month took over from pro-Western management, stated the company’s management suffered from “numerous omissions and shortcomings,” including that month-to-month salaries to over 350 staff have been last paid in September.

The government stated it should instantly cease funding the losses, including that the airline’s debt is such that it faced the “risk of confiscation of the plane” on foreign airports. However, the government added that it plans to type a “completely new” airline within the months to come.

The airline, which carried about 10 million passengers over the past two and a half decades, stated the government’s “decision to close down our company will have a negative impact on the whole aviation sector within the nation.”

In a sentimental farewell gesture, the pilots on the company’s final flight to Belgrade on Friday were given permission by air controllers to make a heart-shaped course within the skies over the picturesque mountainous Adriatic state.

“It was pure emotion triggered by the tears and huge love for our company by the crew and all its staff,” the flight’s captain, Nikola Pavicevic, wrote on Fb.