A sudden airline shutdown or bankruptcy can send reverberations that in some cases last for months or even years.
After UK-based regional airlines Eastern Airways and Blue Channels both collapsed within a few weeks of each other in the fall of 2025, a community in Cornwall with left without flight access and had to use larger planes that ran mostly empty to not disrupt travel.
When Icelandic company Play Airlines fell in an abrupt bankruptcy, local tour operator Tango Travel also had to shut down in a domino effect as many of the tour packages it sold relied on flights from the now-defunct airline.
Tailwind Air files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy two years after transitioning to charter flights
Based out of Westchester County (HPN) and Sikorsky Memorial (BDR) to connect multiple regions in the Northeast with Manhattan, Tailwind Air launched in 2014 but began in operations in 2019 after receiving the necessary operating licenses. After struggling to turn a profit, it ended up canceling all commercial flights and transitioned to being a charter-only airline in 2024.
At the time, the airline named lack of demand and struggling to turn a profit for shutting down operations. As first reported by the BankruptcyObserver watchdog, Tailwind Air has now filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Eastern District of Virginia bankruptcy court on January 15, 2026.
Related: Global airline cancels all flights in Chapter 7 liquidation plan
Plans to run charter flights also failed to materialize and the carrier lost its AOC operating license in January 2025.
The filing reports company assets of less than $100,000 and liabilities of between $1 and $10 million owed to between 50 and 99 creditors. Kevin M. O’Donnell of Henry & O’Donnell law firm is representing Tailwind Air in the bankruptcy proceedings.
Tailwind Air
Why did Tailwind Air shut down in 2024 and file for bankruptcy now
The airline has not released a statement on the bankruptcy proceedings. In 2025, chief executive Alan Ram said that the airline had been actively looking for investors and partners to restart potential seaplane operations from Boston. The airline had an extensive seaplane fleet of Cessna 208 Caravan, SOCATA TBM and Dassault Falcon 900 aircraft among others.
Each plane had fewer than 60 seats while one-way prices ranged from between $400 and $800 per ticket.
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Its most flashy route went from New York to Boston but it also tested services to cities like Newport, Provincetown and Nantucket that ultimately failed to bring in the traffic to make them financially viable.
These airlines filed for bankruptcy in 2025:
- 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 September 2025.
No additional information on how the airline plans to restructure are available at this time.
Related: International travel company shuts down in bankruptcy, travelers stranded
