Airline News

These 17 Airlines Shut Down Operations In 2024

Dec 19, 2024

Carriers come and carriers go. Being a very capital intensive enterprise, the airline industry is not for the faint of heart, and usually sees at least 10-20 casualties each year.

In the last few years, most closures were as a result of the pandemic, but now that the air travel market is business back to business as usual, many of this year’s closures are a result of either unfavorable market conditions or corporate mismanagement.

As usual I cover passenger airlines only (sorry cargo lovers). Before getting into the list, you can also check out closures from other years including 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

In This Post

Albawings (Albania) – Ceased operations on January 12, 2024

Founded in 2015, Albawings was set up as a low-cost carrier operating a range of older Boeing 737 models. However, the carrier faced stiff competition over the course of its existence and ceased operations on January 12, 2024.

LIAT (Antigua and Barbuda) – Ceased operations on January 24, 2024

Founded in 1974, the Antigua and Barbuda-based regional carrier operated a number of flights throughout the Eastern Caribbean, reaching as far as Guyana and Puerto Rico. The airline was majority owned by three governments including Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Even after rebranding in 2013 and switching to a more modern ATR turboprop fleet, the airline was unable to turn a profit due to mismanagement, and officially closed its doors on January 24, 2024.

Since then, some of the company’s assets were transferred to a newly formed entity called LIAT (2020) Limited branded as LIAT20. LIAT (2020) Limited is a joint venture between the government of Antigua and Barbuda, and Nigerian passenger carrier Air Peace. Antigua has a 30% stake, while Air Peace holds the remaining 70%.

Fly Arna (Armenia) – Ceased operations on January 10, 2024

Founded in the height of the pandemic, Fly Arna was a result of a joint-venture between low-cost carrier Air Arabia and the Armenian government-owned Armenia National Interests Fund (ANIF).

Commencing operations in 2021, Fly Arna served as Armenia’s national carrier for the next three years with a fleet of three Airbus A320-200 aircraft. Unfortunately The company was forced to cease operations on January 10, 2024 citing operations difficulties.

As the company was unable to provide a clear path moving forward, any hopes of the airline coming back to life were slashed when the Armenian government decided to dissolve ANIF in May 2024.

Lynx Air (Canada) – Ceased operations on February 26, 2024

In 2006, Lynx Air was initially founded as a charter airline called New Air & Tours before being rebranded as EnerJet in 2008. Even though the carrier aimed to launch as a low cost carrier, they performed a number of charter flights, ferrying employees for various energy companies. They also performed leisure charters during peak travel periods.

In 2021, they rebranded as Lynx Air, operating a fleet of nine Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, offering ultra low-cost flights out of Toronto and Calgary. With stiff competition from other LCCs and ULCCs, Lynx Air was unable to sustain operations following financial difficulty. They shut down operations on February 26, 2024, with its entire fleet being transferred to WestJet.

HumoAir (Uzbekistan) – Ceased operations on March 11, 2024

Founded in 2020, Uzbekistan carrier HumoAir would be later acquired by Swiss investment firm Valleyroad Capital S.A, launching operations in mid-December 2023 as a low-cost carrier. With a fleet of two Airbus A320-200s, the carrier operated domestic flights for less than three months before suspending operations on March 11, 2024.

The airline announced restructuring works in order to facilitate flights to international destinations including Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, and with plans of returning to the skies in April 2024. That deadline has since passed, and it’s unclear what the company’s status is as they have not issued any further statements.

Air Malta (Malta) – Ceased operations on March 30, 2024

After 50 years in service, Malta’s flag carrier ceased operations on March 30, 2024. Like many other government-run airlines, Air Malta struggled to consistently keep its head above the water. For instance, 2018 was the first time they made a profit since 2000.

In 2022, the Maltese government declared that Air Malta would be dissolved if the European Union (EU) denied them the ability to use state aid to finance the airline. So said, so done. In April 2023, the EU rejected the proposal, prompting the government to register a new business entity called KM Malta Airlines.

Some of the airline’s assets including their fleet of eight Airbus A320neos was transferred to the new carrier, and on March 30, 2024, Air Malta ceased to exist with KM Malta Airlines beginning operations the following day.

As part of the savings strategy, KM Malta’s route network is much smaller compared to Air Malta’s, only operating flights to various parts of Europe.

iAero Airways (United States) – Ceased operations on April 6, 2024

iAero Airways, previously named Swift Air, was an American charter airline based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The carrier which operated a fleet of passenger and cargo Boeing 737s, filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2023. In mid-March 2024, Eastern Air Express put in a $71 million bid to save the airline, but this never came to be and the airline shut down operations on April 6th.

Bonza (Australia) – Ceased operations on April 29, 2024

Bonza started off with a bang in January 2023 trying to operate 36 routes between a number of cities spread across eastern Australia. However, as a ULCC, they quickly learnt that many of these routes were simply not sustainable and/or extremely competitive.

Throughout 2023, a number of those routes were removed from their network, and the company was forced to downsize its operations.

Bonza was owned by Miami investment first 777 Partners, which also owns Canada’s ultra low-cost airline Flair. In 2021, Jocelyn Harris, Flair’s former VP of Finance accused 777 of leasing MAXs to Flair based on an inflated value, and then set interest rates as high as 18%, making it even more challenging for the Canadian ULCC to keep its head above water.

It’s fair to say Bonza’s parent company set up the carrier for failure, with the airline being forced to suspend operations on April 29, 2024.

JetAir Caribbean (Curacao) – Ceased operations on June 18, 2024

Commencing operations in November 2019, JetAir Caribbean was a Curacao-based carrier operating a fleet of two Fokker 70 aircraft. Even though Jetair managed to survive the pandemic, operating older aircraft worked against them as they were forced to retire one by mid 2023.

The company continued its operations throughout the Caribbean and South America with its one remaining aircraft, and was in the process of trying to obtain newer aircraft types, with the ATR brand being the top contender.

In May 2024, their second Fokker 70 was at death’s doors after one of the aircraft’s engines suffered significant damage. After salvaging a replacement from its parked F70, the airline operated in limp mode until June 18, 2024 when it declared bankruptcy.

Canada Jetlines (Canada) – Ceased operations on August 15, 2024

Beginning operations in September 2022, Canada Jetlines was yet another victim of the extremely competitive Canadian air travel market, ceasing operations on August 15, 2024.

Operating a fleet of four Airbus A320-200s, Canada Jetlines offered a combination of scheduled and chartered flights, working heavily with travel agencies to support various vacation travel packages. However, liquidity issues plagued the airline, and they were forced to suspend flights.

For now, it looks like operations are on pause as they have sought creditor protection.

Lanmei Airlines (Cambodia) – Ceased operations in August 2024

Lanmei Airlines was a Cambodian airline operating scheduled flights throughout parts of Asia with a fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft. Not much is known about the airline otherwise, other than it shut down operations some time in August 2024.

OTT Airlines (China) – Ceased operations on September 22, 2024

Officially known as One Two Three Airlines, OTT Airlines began operations at the end of 2020 as a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines. OTT was built out with the sole purpose of operating Chinese-built aircraft, flying to various cities across China.

At the end of August 2024, China Eastern announced that OTT would be merged into the China Eastern Airlines brand, with the last flights taking place on September 22, 2024.

CSA Czech Airlines (Czech Republic) – Ceased operations on October 26, 2024

Beginning operations in October 1923, Czech Airlines is the oldest member in this list, with over 100 years of service under its belt. After pausing operations in 2021 due to the fallout from the pandemic, CSA resumed flights under new ownership.

Prague City Air was a new company formed with a 70% investment from Smartwings shareholders Jiří Šimáně and Roman Vik, with the other 30% coming from Smartwings (airline) itself. In October 2024, it was decided that all assets would be transferred to Smartwings, and that Czech Airlines would be converted to a holding company under which Smartwings would operate.

Even though its transferred A320s and A220 are SmartWings-operated, they still wear the CSA Czech Airlines brand, and flights can be booked through CSA’s website.

Legally speaking, Czech Airlines ceased operations on October 26, 2024 due to the new setup of its corporate structure.

Eagle Air (Iceland) – Ceased operations in October 2024

Founded in 1970, Icelandic airline Eagle Air performed scheduled, chartered and adventure tour flights. They operated a number of turboprop aircraft from manufacturers including Dornier, Cessna and British Aerospace. After Mýflug (another small Icelandic carrier) bought a 77.1% stake in the airline in January 2023, Eagle Air eventually declared bankruptcy some time in October 2024.

FlyEgypt (Egypt) – Ceased operations on October 21, 2024

Founded as a low-cost and charter airline, FlyEgypt commenced operations in 2015, operating flights to parts of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. However, the Boeing 737-800 operator wrapped up operations on October 21, 2024 citing financial difficulties.

Vistara (India) – Ceased operations on November 12, 2024

Launching operations in 2015, Vistara was a full-service airline that was eventually merged into Air India. The transition was completed on November 12, 2024, with all operations officially operating under Air India’s brand from the next day going forward.

The merger isn’t surprising given that the Tata Group owns Air India, and owned 51% of Vistara alongside Singapore Airlines which owned the remaining 49%. Post-merger, Singapore Airlines now has a 25.1% stake in Air India.

Nordica (Estonia) – Ceased operations on November 20, 2024

Estonian charter carrier Nordica (and parent company of Xfly) was founded in 2015, previously operating scheduled flights from 2016 to 2023. Their fleet included ATR 72-600s, Bombardier CRJ900s and an Airbus A320. In October 2023, they switched to a wet-lease model, operating charter flights on behalf of other European airlines.

The airline was dealt a big blow after Scandinavian Airlines terminated its contract with Xfly in early November. As Nordica was part of government-owned Nordic Aviation Group, they sought to privatize their operations, but these plans failed to bear fruit, and the company filed for bankruptcy on November 20, 2024.

Featured image: Czech Airlines