With most charter airlines and private jet brokers operating as private businesses and lacking the financial resources of publicly-traded commercial airlines, bankruptcies in a space as expensive as aviation are not uncommon.
This week, San Marino-based private jet operator Limitless Aviation was reported to no longer have a valid air operator’s certificate (AOC). Without this critical authorization, an airline is unable to run or sell flights to passengers.
Air Mountain, a small charter airline that flew into ski resorts in The Alps from cities like Geneva and London, also filed for bankruptcy protection in June 2026.
Luxaviation no longer has active AOC or running flights: Report
The latest name to join that list is, as first reported by Swiss aviation publication ch-aviation, the Portuguese branch of private aircraft operator Luxaviation.
Launched out of the European country of Luxembourg in 2008 with a single Cessna Citation XLS, Luxaviation offered clients a network of on-demand flights from its bases in Luxembourg, Paris and London to various destinations across Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Related: Another airline shuts down after losing license, cancels flights
In 2015, Luxaviation expanded beyond Luxembourg and into the Portuguese market by acquiring local private jet operator Masterjet and building out an arm serving wealthy travelers flying into and out of Portugal.
Current reporting by ch-aviation states that Luxaviation has had its Portuguese AOC license permanently revoked as the rest of the aviation group continues operations. Without it, any flights that Luxaviation Portugal may have had scheduled for the future weeks or months are canceled by default since it cannot legally run them.
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What is the current status of European private jet operator Luxaviation
Luxaviation could not be immediately reached for clarification on its current state. Common reasons for a lost AOC usually involve either financial insolvency or inactivity. At its peak, Luxaviation had a fleet of dozens of aircraft ranging from helicopters and short-field planes to several ultra-long-range jets for transatlantic flights.
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“Masterjet holds a Portuguese AOC, is headquartered in Lisbon and operates business jets from Paris/Le Bourget,” the company wrote of itself on its website. “With its 44 employees in Paris and 13 aviation experts based in Lisbon, Masterjet operates a fleet of eight business jets ranging from Falcon- to Learjet- type aircrafts as well as a wide body Airbus 320, mainly targeting ‘head of state’ clients.”
These airlines also lost their licenses in recent months:
- Izhavia: Russian regional airline Izhavia had its AOC revoked by the country’s aviation regulatory agency in July 2026 as Western sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine left the country’s aviation industry crippled by lack of Western parts and lowered ability to ensure maintenance standards.
- Bestfly Aircraft Management Aruba: The Caribbean branch of the African charter airline Bestfly Aircraft Management Aruba lost its AOC in May 2026. The Aruban branch was established in 2017 to run flights between the Caribbean countries of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao.
- 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 a long string of financial problems and a revoked AOC.
Related: Another airline in bankruptcy, all flights canceled
