While it is common practice for a new carrier to start advertising and selling tickets months before it has officially commenced operations, doing this carries significant risks if things break down along one of the many regulatory and logistical steps that are necessary for an airline to get off the ground.
This week, the prosecutor’s office in the German city of Hamburg brought charges against Czech airline startup Fischer Air over tickets that were sold for flights whose launch kept getting pushed back.
The Czech airline ran flights between 1996 and 2005 with a fleet of three Boeing 737-300 planes but eventually shut down in bankruptcy. Czech-German entrepreneur Václav Fischer had earlier announced plans to revive the airline in 2024 but a recent insolvency led to prosecutors claiming that it may have been nothing other than corporate fraud.
Joy Airline in Argentina pushes back launch, cancels ticket sales
In an entirely different part of the world, the newly-formed Argentine carrier JOY Airline was formally presented as a project to connect Gobernador Horacio Guzmán International Airport (JUJ) in the extreme northwest of the South American country to other domestic destinations in March 2026 by Argentine aviation entrepreneur Juan Maggio.
The launch date was initially set for September 2026 and the airline had begun selling tickets for flights to cities including Buenos Aires and Córdoba.
Related: Low-cost airline cancels all flights for 4 weeks, shuts down
Reporting out of the country now states that the airline has suspended ticket sales due to what it says is the need to make technical adjustments to its website and rework its pricing tier structure before a full launch.
Joy Airline tells customers it is “preparing to resume ticket sales”
Those who go onto the Joy Airline website as of Sept. 21 are greeted with a pop-up stating that the airline is “preparing to resume ticket sales” and “working to offer a fast, secure, and reliable purchasing experience” in Spanish.
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The airline could not immediately be reached for comment on its situation. It is also unclear whether Joy Airline had secured an AOC from Argentina’s National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) or, now that the start date has been pushed back yet again, what the timeline for the flight launches will be.
Airlines that shut down in 2026:
- Izhavia: The Russian regional airline 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 a lack of Western parts and a reduced 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: 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 airline shuts down after losing license, cancels flights