The most essential license that an airline needs in order to launch and sell tickets for commercial flights to passengers is the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC).
Handed out by the aviation regulatory authority in a given country, the AOC is granted once the airline proves that it has the necessary planes, staff, safety systems and financial resources to operate.
An AOC can also be revoked over a failed safety audit while if a carrier is in a state of insolvency, it has a set period of time to prove that it has a viable restructuring plan. In the absence of one, the airline can receive a suspension or full revocation that will shut it down even if it had not planned to do this.
AirThailand and Really Cool Airlines no longer have AOCs: Report
Airlines that lost their AOCs over the last few months include Estonia-based SmartLynx Airlines, Austria-based Mali Air and Swedish charter carrier H-Bird. The latter airline had run into deep debt from a business model that targeted wealthy travelers who book charter flights but not bringing in enough of them to make up for operating costs.
As first reported by ch-aviation, two low-cost airlines in Thailand have became the latest to lose their AOCs. Rebranded from the defunct Asia Atlantic Airlines in 2024, AirThailand was relaunched in 2024 with the goal of running short flights to China, Japan and the United Arab Emirates out of its base in Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) but ultimately failed to get off the ground.
Related: Another travel company files for bankruptcy, cancels all trips
While reasons for the lost AOCs have not been made publicly available, AirThailand tried to enter a market full of competition from a large number of Asian airlines also flying the same routes to the popular tourist destinations: AirAsia and Jetstar Japan in particular.
What happens when an airline loses an AOC
Founded in 2018 also out of Suvarnabhumi Airport, Really Cool Airlines had been preparing to launch its first flights within Asia in 2026 as well but is now reported to no longer have a valid AOC. Founder and CEO Patee Sarasin had previously spoken of planned routes to Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Kazakhstan as well as eventual plans to expand to London and Australia.
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Some regional airlines to recently file for bankruptcy:
- Spirit Airlines (Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc.): Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time on August 29,2025.
- Ravn Alaska: Ceased operations in August 2025 after earlier Chapter 11 proceedings; shut down flights and folded into other operations such as New Pacific.
- Corporate Air: Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (restructuring) in September 2025 as part of a planned sale, according to Bondoro.
- Play Airlines: The Reykjavik-based airline shut down operations and entered involuntary bankruptcy in September 2025.
- Braathens Airlines:The airline was forced to file for bankruptcy and canceled all of its flights in September2025.
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In Thailand, the regulatory agency granting AOCs is the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT); neither it nor either of the two airlines have commented on reports that they have lost their licenses.
Related: Another regional airline files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidates
