It has been a couple of years since I have been focussed on writing about vanishing airlines. The last couple of years have been a bit crazy, haven’t they? The airline industry in 2022 was marred by a mad scramble to get flights back across the world. For passengers, our experiences have been marked by crowded conditions, lost luggage, massive delays and high airfares. In the midst of that, several carriers went bust.

Of the airlines, that ceased in 2022, two were ones I was really sad about (Comair/Kalulua). One had an interesting concept and with some more capital, better planning and more lead time might have worked (aha!). Let’s dive into the list:

• Comoros, is an archipelago of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean.
• 2010 to March 2022
• Operated a fleet of 4 Embraer aircraft connecting five destination
• Considered the largest operator in the Comoros
• AB Aviation had its AOC revoked in March 2022.

• United States
• Feb 2018 June 20, 2022
• Had a single Airbus A320 located at Ontario Airport and planned to operate across western USA and into Canada. It never actually flew.
• Airbahn was founded by Tariq M. Chaudhary, CEO of Airblue, (Pakistan’s second largest airline).
• I never understood this proposed carrier. Anyway, its certification process was too slow and the US Department of Transportation halted plans, leading to the end of this proposed airline.

• Sweden and Norway
• 2018 – January 24, 2022
• 13 destinations across Finland, Norway, and Sweden, with five planes
• Founded as Next Move, it took over Swedish airline Nextjet and rebranded as Air Leap.
• Suspended operations due to financial issues exacerbated by the lack of government aid during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Ukraine
• Founded in late 2019, the airline received its AOC in March 2021 and began flying in April 2021. Ceased completely to exist in August 202w
• Four B737-800 fleet operating low-cost regular and charter flights from Ukraine to Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Egypt, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Montenegro and Spain^[
• AOC was cancelled due to the return of the fleet and the inability to meet the two-aircraft requirement during the Russian invasion.

• Romania
• Eastern and Central Europe from Bucharest, the capital of Romania
• 2004 to September 6, 2022
• 75 destinations with narrow-body aircraft, including 737 MAX 8s.
• Pioneered low-cost services and competed strongly with flag carrier TAROM.
• Went insolvent in July 2020; rescued by the Romanian government but faced challenges from the growing Wizz Air, and finally suspended operations.

Tchadia or Chad Airlines

• N’Djamena, Republic of Chad,a landlocked country on the edge of Northern and Central Africa. The nation has struggled with civil war, political violence and multiple attempted coups d’état. Infrastructure and economy are very poor.
• 2018 to 2022
• Operated two Q400 turboprops to five domestic airports and five airports in neighbouring countries.
• Established as a joint venture between the government of Chad (51% ownership) and Ethiopian Airlines to establish Chad’s new national airline. It replaced the previous 98% Chad government owned national airline Air Tchad, which collapsed in 2002. The airline participated in Ethiopian’s frequent flyer program: ShebaMiles
• Faced financial difficulties, leading to insolvency and the end of operations. Of all the 2002 collapsed airlines, this is the one I am sad about because it represented the end of some level of hope for a positive future for this impoverished nation.

• South Africa
• Comair: 1943 to May 31, 2022 and subsidiary Kulula: 2001- June 6, 2022
• Comair Limited operated as a British Airways franchisee on South African domestic routes and was an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. 20 Boeing 737s connected 11 destinations Additionally, Comair operated budget carrier subsidiary: “Kulula.com” trademark using 10 Boeing 737s connecting six destinations.
• The COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. Dramatically impacted the carrier(s) which suspended operations multiple times during 2020, 2021 and 2022. I had always wanted to fly them so was sad to see them ago.

• Italy
• March 30, 2021 to January 4, 2022
• A single Embraer ERJ 190 operated by German Airways
• Italian intended to have a point-to-point network of routes between various Italian cities to Milan Malpensa (MXP) feeding passengers into other airlines at that point. The concept was that passengers could completely tailor their experience on board as well as booking extras like limousine services and hotels. The airline planned to offer gourmet local Italian food
• The harsh reality was that German Airways pulled its single aircraft from the lease agreement in 2021. Ego scrambled to find other operators and failed to. Great concept but the reality of the airline industry is you need more cash than ideas!

• Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), a small (17,364 km² /6,704 sq mi) landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa at every other border
• Rebranded from (1978-1999)
• Rebranded in 1978 Royal Swazi National Airways then became Swaziland Airlink in 1999 and Eswatini Airlink in 2018
• Operated as a joint venture between South African airline: Airlink and the government of Eswatini with flights primarily linking Manzini in Eswatini and Johannesburg, South Africa. Used Airlink’s Operating Certificate and Embraer aircraft.
• In 2020, the Eswatini government began considering operating the airline independently. The Eswatini government and Airlink severed ties in 2021, and the government established a new airline: Eswatini Air in December 2022

• United States
• ExpressJet 1987 to September 2021; aha!: October 2021 to August 23, 2022
• Operated five ERJ-145s to 13 Western US destinations from Reno, Nevada
• ExpressJet operated flights for mainline carrier United Airlines until September 2020,when. its contract was concluded. In September 2021, ExpressJet resumed operations as regional airline aha!—short for “Air-Hotel-Adventure and as an air charter provider. Its plans similar to US leisure carrier Allegiant Airlines.
• Despite an interesting name and a potentially cool concept, its attempted routes were unprofitable and it didn’t successfully manage to package up hotel partners

• Colombia
• 2019 – April 2022
• Operating out of Cali airport in Colombia with a vintage fleet of three B737-400s and three Fokker 50s to seven destinations across Colombia
• Suspended operations in April 2022 due to financial difficulties. They are not going to fly again

Kamchatka Airlines/ Камчатское авиационное предприятие

• Russia (Kamchatka peninsula)
• Late 2021 – 2022
• Launched in late 2021 to connect destinations in Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula.
• Small operator connecting remote destinations in Russia.
• Had to return Cessna Grand Caravan and couldn’t receive other ordered aircraft due to war-related sanctions

• Russia
• Established in 1992, ceased operations on March 16, 2022
• Eleven Boeing planes to 66 destinations
• Initially established in Abakan, Mongolia as Abakan-Avia, from one of Aeroflot’s divisions. It later operated holiday excursions. It was branded Royal Flight in 2014
• Unable to operate due to Russians’ inability to travel to foreign vacation destinations due to the Ukraine war.

• Hamburg, Germany
• 6 March to May 2022 (seriously!!)
• Connecting Hamburg and Tel Aviv
• Flights were operated by the Polish charter airline Enter Air with a single Boeing 737-800 at first and then by Tus Airways
• You have to ask yourself what real plan there was for this carrier, why there was clearly not enough cash and why no in considered that a single-route airline is not a sound proposition

Missing

Have I missed any? Let me know in the comments!

Related Posts

• Goodbye -The airlines that vanished in 2018
• Goodbye -The airlines that vanished in 2017
• The airlines that vanished in 2016
• The airlines that vanished in 2015
• The airlines that failed in 2014
• Airlines that vanished in 2013
• The Airlines that Vanished in 2012

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