Between rising operational costs and later the jet fuel price spike over the Iran war, a number of small and mid-size airlines have had to shut down operations in the first half of 2026.
Along with the most high-profile case of Spirit Airlines, other names include Mexican holiday carrier Magnicharters, British cargo carrier European Cargo and Swiss regional airline Air Mountain.
Jetflite, a Finnish charter carrier that launched out of Helsinki in 1980, also began the winding-down process back in May before definitively canceling all of its charter flights and fixed-base operator services for the rest of 2026.
Hibernian Airlines and Strategic Alliance of Regional Alliance to be dissolved
Irish regional carrier Hibernian Airlines initially shut down operations at the end of 2024 after Spanish parent company Air Nostrum chose to consolidate the brand into the wider Strategic Alliance of Regional Airlines (SARA) holding company.
As first reported by Swiss aviation outlet ch-aviation, the uncertain status of an airline that some hoped to see revived has now been shot down for good as Air Nostrum made the decision to dissolve both the holding company and airline.
Hibernian Airlines was initially founded in 2017 out of Dublin International Airport (DUB) as a both a charter airline and aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance provider. Air Nostrum’s choice to transfer all of Hibernian’s fleet to sister airline ultimately made two charter carriers operating from the island of Ireland redundant and two years of discussions about its future ultimately led to the decision to dissolve.
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What is happening with Air Nostrum, CityJet and Hibernian Airlines in 2026
Air Nostrum has not yet confirmed the reporting around the dissolution. The Spanish charter airline has in recent months expanded its network to domestic Spanish destinations like the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands.
CityJet, meanwhile, has exited restructuring in 2025 through a €40 million rescue package approved by the Irish High Court through a rescue deal that gave Danish investor Lars Thuesen a 92% stake in the airline (while the airline was thus saved from a looming liquidation, many criticized the deal as a “hostile takeover”).
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As of 2026, CityJet continues to run flights to smaller regional destinations on behalf of larger carriers like SAS, Air France and Brussels Airlines as well as short routes between Dublin and London.
Airlines that shut down in 2026:
- Spirit Airlines: The largest airline shutdown of the year occurred when Spirit Airlines canceled all remaining flights on May 2. Although the airline had filed for Chapter 11 protection twice before, the skyrocketing price of jet fuel dealt the final blow to its operations.
- Magnicharters: The Mexican low-cost airline canceled all of its flights until May 2026 in a shutdown that left thousands stranded.
- Starflite Aviation: Houston-based Starflite Aviation had its AOC license revoked in March 2026, amid FAA claims that owners falsified pilot training records to bypass safety audits.
- AlpAvia: Slovenian charter airline AlpAvia also shut down in March 2026 over financial problems.
- H-Bird: Charter airline H-Bird was declared bankrupt by a Swedish judge after losing its operating license at the end of 2025.
