Airlines that stopped flying in 2024 (the list is open as of 9/5/24)
This year I’ve waited a bit to open the traditional airline bankruptcy list (if curious, here is the 2023 edition and here the list of airlines that stopped flying in 2022), but as the first names start to trickle in, I started compiling it again.
Please note that this is a manually curated list, often made with tips I get from readers in all corners of the world, so if there is some airline that stopped flying this year, please let me know!
Air Malta
This is an interesting one, not just because it is a historical brand, but also because it is more of a transformation than a proper demise. In fact, Air Malta as an entity is closing down, but its place will be taken by a new company set up by the Maltese government called KM Malta Airlines, which is, basically, Air Malta under a different guise. It is true that the new entity starts not just with a clean balance sheet, but also with a different strategy, so will see how it goes this time!
FlyArna (Armenia)
A joint venture between Air Arabia and a local firm, FlyArna aspired to become the flag carrier of this small nation in the Caucasus, but it looks like it didn’t fulfill the expectations.
Competition from other LCCs such as the local subsidiary of Moldovan carrier FlyOne and Wizz Air as well as from Russian and Middle Eastern airlines, left little space in what is, ultimately, a rather small market. I guess, the state of constant tension in the region (with constant flares ups in the conflict with neighbouring Azerbaijan) hasn’t helped either. Fly Arna operated 3 Airbus A320-family aircraft during its period of maximum activity. All flights were suspended on January 29 and the AOC was withdrawn in March.
Air Vanuatu
The airline of this tiny Pacific Ocean nation announced a temporal flight suspension as it restructures. As it happens, we covered Air Vanuatu on this site in the past, when the carrier ordered new Airbus A220 aircraft, a deal that gathered quite some interest at the time, because it is rare to see A220s in the type of routes that Air Vanuatu operated, linking the island to Australia, New Zealand and other far flung Pacific Ocean territories.
Humo Air (Uzbekistan)
As far as brevity is concerned, Humo Air must be a record holder. The new Uzbek low cost carrier launched in December 2023, one of a crop of new airlines that have emerged in the Central Asian nation as it liberalizes its air travel market. Humo Air was aiming to have a fleet of 18-aircraft fleet by 2025 and will eventually offer a network of 60 destinations, but looks like that’s not going to happen.
Lynx Air (Canada)
A reader (thanks Julia!) has brought to my attention the demise of this Canadian low cost carrier, which until 2021 was known as Enerjet. I must confess I didn’t know about this carrier, despite having a sizable (for Canada) fleet of 9 Boeing 737 MAX plus another 38 (!) on order.
LIAT (Antigua and Barbuda)
This is not the first time that we include LIAT in this list of airlines that cease operations. In 2020 LIAT stopped flying and was about to be liquidated, but it somehow managed to survive in a restructured form. However, in early 2024, this Caribbean regional carrier succumbed again and stopped flying.