Given the smaller customer base, regional airlines are particularly affected by economic ebbs.
Carriers that ended up in bankruptcy or total shutdown over the last year include the United Kingdom’s Eastern Airways and Blue Channels, Sweden’s Braathens Aviation and Iceland’s low-cost carrier Play Airlines.
In the United States, Spirit Airlines is currently trying to emerge from its second bankruptcy while Total Air Services also filed for Chapter 11 protection in Texas last November. In each case, the carrier struggled with rising costs of operations and inability to cover them with enough sold tickets.
After months of protests, Air Calédonie files for bankruptcy
In an entirely different part of the world, national carrier Air Calédonie filed for Chapter 11 protection in regional French courts.
The flag carrier for the remote French overseas territory of New Caledonia, Air Calédonie has faced almost two months of protests over the decision to move the airline’s base in the capital city of Nouméa to a more distant airport.
Related: Another airline prepares to file for bankruptcy, all flights off
The carrier serves a remote territory in the South Pacific made up of over 130 smaller islands; for many locals, the airline is a lifeline for transportation to hospitals, grocery stores and other critical infrastructure.
With protesters blocking airfields in multiple airports across different islands, Air Calédonie has been unable to run scheduled flights and placed 220 of its employees on furlough in mid-March. A representative told Agence Francce-Presse that, without resuming service, the airline’s cash reserves “will be depleted by early April.”
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What is going to happen to Air Calédonie: some possibilities
With no resolution reached, Air Calédonie filed for the equivalent of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under French law on March 27 and is seeking court permission to resume certain domestic flights under court protection. If the proposal is rejected, the airline goes into receivership in which its assets will be placed under the control of an independent third party.
The airline said that the flight cancelations affect “almost two hundred families” stranded by the cancelations and expressed hopes of resuming operations once its proposal is approved by a judge.
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In similar cases in the past, the country’s government tends to step in to prevent an airline critical to serving remote regions from collapsing entirely although the current situation is compounded by the fact of the protests.
These airlines filed for bankruptcy in 2025:
- Spirit Airlines (Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc.): Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time on Aug. 29, 2025.
- Ravn Alaska: Ceased operations in August 2025 after earlier Chapter 11 proceedings; shut down flights and folded into other operations such as New Pacific.
- Corporate Air: Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (restructuring) in September 2025 as part of a planned sale, according to Bondoro.
- Play Airlines: The Reykjavik-based airline shut down operations and entered involuntary bankruptcy in September 2025.
- Braathens Airlines: The airline was forced to file for bankruptcy and canceled all of its flights in September2025.
A local senator involved in the protests had previously blamed the airline for not willing to budge on keeping the current airport base until it is able to offer better connectivity to residents who will be unable to reach it. Air Calédonie, in turn, issued a standard statement saying that it is working on a mutually satisfactory agreement.
Related: Another travel company files for bankruptcy, cancels all trips