As the high costs of aviation regularly take down even established carriers, some airlines run to the ground financially before they even take off.
Envisioned as the world’s first zero-emission regional airline by British green investor Dale Vince, Ecojet Airlines entered voluntary liquidation, or the British equivalent of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, in January 2026.
In July 2026, shareholders of what was supposed to be a new low-cost regional Italian airline called Aerolinee Siciliane voted to dissolve and liquidate before operations could begin due to high expenses and challenges securing the necessary approvals.
Dutch hydro-electric airplane developer Maeve Aerospace was also recently declared insolvent by a Dutch court.
Fischer Air insolvent and not running any flights: report
Fischer Air, a Czech airline that operated from 1996 to 2005 with a fleet of three Boeing 737-300 planes, had begun a revival as a vacation airline flying to the Spanish island of Mallorca from cities in Germany, Czechia, and Slovakia, Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
The Mediterranean island is a popular holiday destination for Europeans, and Czech-German entrepreneur Václav Fischer, who was behind the original brand, re-registered it in 2024 and had initiated the process for obtaining an operating license.
Related: Another airline cancels all flights for 30 days amid financial troubles
Several German consumers had warned that Fischer Air sold tickets to Mallorca before obtaining an operating license earlier this year, as fvw Travel Talk confirmed. Now, the latest reporting from Mallorca Magazin noted that the airline is fully insolvent.
Attempts to file for bankruptcy protection had reportedly been rejected by a court in Hamburg over “Mangels Masse,” a German legal term that means a company lacks the necessary assets to cover the litigation process.
Fischer Air
What’s the status of Fischer Air, which promised but never delivered flights to Mallorca?
The Hamburg public prosecutor’s office brought charges against Fischer Air’s chief over flights that were sold but repeatedly pushed back throughout 2025 and 2026, the Kassel, Germany-based newspaper Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine reported.
The last time the airline set flights to launch from airports such as Kassel-Calden (KDF) and Friedrichshafen (FDH) was October 2026.
It is also not clear whether the revived airline had any aircraft to run the flights it was selling.
More Travel News:
- Airline to launch unusual new flight to Cayman Islands from the U.S.
- There is a very cool Irish version of swimming pigs in The Bahamas
- Unexpected country is most luxurious travel destination for 2026
- Low-cost airline launches easier way to get to Sri Lanka
The prosecutor’s office is now alleging commercial fraud, while a website that advertised the airline and sold tickets has been scrubbed from the internet.
A Fischer Air Instagram page is still up but provides no information on the state of the company; a representative could not immediately be reached for comment.
Airlines that shut down or filed for bankruptcy 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 and eventually shut down in a collapse that left thousands stranded.
- Starflite Aviation: The Houston-based carrier had its AOC license revoked in March 2026, amid FAA claims that owners falsified pilot training records to bypass safety audits.
- AlpAvia: The Slovenian charter airline also shut down in March 2026 over financial problems.
Related: Another national airline files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
