New Airlines launched in 2026 - the list if open (as of 22/1/26)
A new year means often a clean slate, and this section of our site is no exception.
In this regularly updated post I will try to sum up the airlines that get started throughout the year, anywhere in the world.
Please, bear in mind, that this may not be a perfect list, since, fortunately, this industry is not lacking in entrepreneurial energy and it is quite hard to monitor every single new airline started in every corner of the world. As usual, your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated!
By the way, if you are curious how the industry did on this front in the last couple of years, here are the lists of airlines that launched in 2025 and 2024.
Also, please note, that it is common for some new airline projects to be announced or get close to launch, but ultimately fail to materialize. So, there is no hard rule regarding which airlines are or are not included here. I usually wait until the launch is confirmed, although in some cases in which the project appears solid enough, I would also post announcements.
Argentum Airways (United States)
This new Alaskan carrier fills a gap left behind by the two bankruptcies of Ravn, which was, previously, Alaska’s main regional carrier. What’s interesting is that this new venture is, actually, a brand of an existing Alaskan carrier, Aleutian Airways, which was originally a joint venture between Sterling Airways, which does the actual flying, and Alaska Seaplanes (which exited this venture three years after its establishment). The financial backing appears to come from investment firm Wexford Capital, which acquired one of Sliver Airways ATR72-600 turboprops. This Florida-based airline, which operated in the exact opposite side of the US ceased operations and was liquidated in the summer of 2025 (and was included in our 2025 airline bankruptcy list). In fact, the new venture’s name “Argentum” is Latin for “silver”, hence a hint of this connection. Argentum Airways completed its first revenue flight on January 20, 2026, between Anchorage and Kenai, Alaska.
AIR UNIQON (Germany)
This is a niche regional airline that started flying on January 12, 2026. Its sole purpose is to connect Friedrichshafen, in southernmost Germany next to Lake Constance, to Hamburg and Berlin, several times per week. To do so it uses a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 turboprop operated by German ACMI provider Avanti Air.
