Cypriot carrier Cobalt suspended all operations at midnight - including those serving London Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick.

The airlines flies thousands of holidaymakers to the Med every year.

The firm said in a shock statement: "Cobalt regrets to announce that it will be cancelling all flights as of 23:50pm on October 17, 2018 due to indefinite suspension of Cobalt's operations.

"As a result, future flights or services provided by Cobalt will be cancelled and will no longer operate.

"Passengers who have un-flown tickets are instructed not to go to Larnaca Airport or any departure airport tomorrow, 18 October 2018 as no Cobalt flights will operate and no Cobalt staff will be present.

"For refunds, please contact your credit card provider or Travel Agent.

"We sincerely apologise once again and would like to thank our very loyal customers for their support over the last two years of Cobalt operations."

The airline had reportedly failed to secure a last-minute lifeline investment and was left with only 13 million pounds on its books.

And passengers have been expressing their disappointment since the news emerged.

One wrote on Twitter: "There's nothing quite like starting your day frantically trying to replace all your flight bookings!#Cobalt #cobaltair #Cyprus"

Another said: "We have a visitor from Greece who has just found out the airline she was due to fly home with has gone bust!.. #cobaltair"

While a third added: "Being out in Crete and having to rebook all my flights due to #cobalt going into administration makes me realise how valuable we are as travel agents. It's a stressful process and I wouldn't want any customer to have to deal with this stress on their holiday."

Cypriot transport minister Vassiliki Anastassiadou said alternative arrangements would be made for passengers.

But it was not immediately clear what would happen to stranded travellers - or customers with future bookings.

The airline has a staff of about 200 and had sought to fill a gap in Cypriot air transport following the demise of state-run Cyprus Airways in early 2016.

Its last ever UK flight was a departure from London Heathrow at 6pm last night - which landed in Lamaka shortly before 10pm.

Cobalt also had routes to several other major destinations including Paris, Madrid and Dublin.

It flew to Abu Dhabi in the Middle East, as well as Tel Aviv in Israel and Moscow in Russia.

The carrier had expanded rapidly to about 20 destinations since its launch and adding a business class and frequent-flyer programme.

Another company has since named itself Cyprus Airways after acquiring the logo and the brand from the Cyprus government.

It comes just weeks after Icelandic budget carrier Primera Air also ceased operating.

Primera blamed it on cancellations forced by the late arrival of new Airbus jets and the failure to secure long-term funding.