The Cypriot airline Cobalt Air has cancelled all its flights and indefinitely suspended operations, advising customers not to go to the airport.

Cobalt, which was based at Larnaca airport, had operated since 2016 and flew to 23 destinations. In the UK, the airline operated flights at Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick and Manchester. It cancelled all flights from 11.50pm on Wednesday night, the airline said in a statement on its website.

In a later statement quoted by the Cyprus Mail newspaper, Cobalt said it had called in administrators after failing to secure long-term funding. The collapse leaves thousands of customers either stranded abroad or with their future travel plans in tatters.

“It is with great regret that we must inform you that Cobalt Air will cease all operations at midnight on 17 October 2018 and enter into administration process, after two years and three months of operations,” the statement read.

“[It] is a sad day for all the employees and passengers of Cobalt Air. The company has been working relentlessly during the past months to secure the long-term financing of the airline.”

The Cypriot transport minister, Vasiliki Anastasiadou, pledged state support for all those stranded in Cyprus or overseas and said telephone numbers would be announced soon to help passengers.

Cobalt’s demise comes after the Danish budget carrier Primera Air collapsed earlier this month. The UK regional airline Flybe warned of mounting annual losses on Wednesday, blaming weaker consumer demand and higher fuel prices.

John Grant at JG Aviation Consultants said tight margins and increased capacity across the industry was piling pressure on some airlines.

He said: “What we are seeing is those carriers at the margin are struggling and indeed will continue to do so through the next winter and perhaps beyond. There is quite simply too much capacity in the market, taking the Europe–North America market this winter where there is some 13% more capacity (2.1 million) more seats than last winter.

“Looking forward to the winter I suspect there will be a few other collapses and some carriers seeking to scale back their operations at the very least in the really off-peak period.”

Cobalt had one flight a day to and from Heathrow, three flights a week from Stansted, and two flights a week from Manchester. Heathrow said it would provide assistance to customers who turned up at the airport.

On its website, Cobalt advised passengers who have unused tickets not to go to Larnaca airport or any departure airport on Thursday because no Cobalt flights would be operating and no Cobalt staff would be present.

The largest Cyprus-based airline also advised travellers to contact their credit card provider or travel agent for refunds.

The airline has six aircraft and about 200 staff, and was founded after the demise of the state-run Cyprus Airways in 2015.

Guardian reporter Aamna Mohdin was among those affected by the cancellations.

She said: “My husband, Chris, and I booked tickets to fly out to Cyprus on Sunday for our honeymoon but woke up to the unpleasant surprise that Cobalt Air has cancelled all flights and would be going into liquidation. We were able to quickly rebook tickets with Ryanair but don’t think we’ll have much luck getting a refund for the original flight as we booked directly with Cobalt Air using a debit card.

“Top tips: get travel insurance, book flights with a credit card and find a partner who can make you laugh despite waking up to the news you’ve both lost hundreds of pounds.”

As with Primera, the Civil Aviation Authority said it would not intervene to bring UK passengers home. As Cobalt is not a UK airline, it is not covered by the Atol protection scheme. Atol protects most air package holidays sold by travel businesses that are licensed in the UK.

When the British airline Monarch went bust a year ago, about 110,000 customers were brought home by the CAA on specially chartered planes, in the UK’s biggest peacetime repatriation.

Neil Wilson, an analyst at markets.com, was also due to fly with Cobalt on Sunday.