The liquidation order for Air Antilles, issued by the Commercial Court of Pointe-à-Pitre on April 27, 2026, goes far beyond the collapse of a single airline. This once again highlights the structural vulnerability of Caribbean air transport.
In a region where connectivity is a critical issue, the airline’s disappearance raises key questions. Is there really a viable economic model for inter-island air transport?
Air Antilles: The end of regional ambitions
After months of uncertainty, Air Antilles permanently suspended its operations following bankruptcy proceedings launched in 2023 and despite a restructuring attempt launched in February 2026.
Its disappearance is particularly significant because it was linked to strong regional development ambitions, particularly supported by the Saint-Martin group. Public authorities have invested tens of millions of euros to support airlines and support companies as part of a wider strategy to reduce regional isolation.
The goal was clear. The goal is to ensure long-term territorial continuity and maintain regular air links between the Caribbean islands.
But these ambitions clashed with particularly difficult operational and financial realities.
The airline’s operations came to an abrupt halt after it lost its airline certification in late 2025. Partial and weak restarts have prevented sufficient levels of activity from being restored, leaving staff and passengers in long-term uncertainty.
The failure of recovery efforts despite structured industrial projects confirms that Air Antilles’ difficulties were not simply the result of management decisions but reflected much deeper economic imbalances.
Regional models under constant pressure
Caribbean airlines simultaneously face several structural constraints, including low passenger numbers, strong seasonality, dependence on fuel costs, and high taxes.
One example clearly illustrates the situation. On certain inter-island routes, a significant portion of the ticket price (often 30% or more) is covered by taxes and airport fees. This pricing structure mechanically reduces the airline’s ability to cover its operating costs.
Local airfare costs are added to this. Although ATR turboprops are well suited to short-haul routes, they do not benefit from the scale effects needed to absorb fixed costs and incur much higher costs per passenger than long-haul aircraft.
In these circumstances, achieving profitability on inter-island routes remains very difficult.
A global phenomenon: a long period of airline failure.
The demise of Air Antilles is part of a broader regional trend. Several Caribbean airlines have ceased operations in recent years.
Barbados-based REDjet attempted to introduce a local low-cost model inspired by European standards, but was unable to overcome structural constraints in the Caribbean market. Puerto Rico-based Seaborne Airlines has partially resumed operations after filing for bankruptcy in 2018. Curaçao-based InselAir and JetAir ceased operations in 2019 and 2024, respectively, after years of financial weakness.
American aircraft carriers operating in the area also suffered no damage. Silver Airlines, which connects Florida, the Bahamas, and Puerto Rico, went through bankruptcy proceedings in 2018 before being acquired and ceased operations again in 2025.
More recently, the collapse of Spirit Airlines illustrates the global dimensions of this challenge. Miami-based Spirit has become a major player in the ultra-low-cost model, operating an extensive network across the United States, the Caribbean and Latin America. Despite several rounds of restructuring, the airline was unable to withstand the worsening economic environment.
Rising fuel prices played a triggering role, but the underlying problem was deeper. It was a business model with shrinking margins, fierce competition, and constant pressure.
In addition to airline bankruptcies, the Puerto Rico case highlights a central paradox of air transportation. While route capacity can often be absorbed by competing airlines, the disappearance of ultra-low-cost carriers fundamentally changes the price balance in the market.
In other words, connectivity may be maintained but economics will be reduced.
In highly price-sensitive markets such as those connecting Puerto Rico and the mainland U.S., Spirit has helped maintain fare levels on high-traffic routes used by tourists, residents, students and business travelers alike.
The demise of this route therefore means not only a supply reorganization, but also a structural fare increase that could impact medium-term demand.
History repeats itself in the Caribbean: LIAT incident
LIAT’s example remains particularly iconic.
Founded in 1974, the historic inter-Caribbean airline was majority-owned by local governments, notably Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados. This public governance reflected a strong political will to maintain regional connectivity despite limited profitability.
Over the years, the airline has accumulated persistent losses. LIAT, already weakened before the pandemic, underwent a major restructuring in 2020 without being able to restore its long-term financial balance.
In 2024, LIAT eventually ceased operations after incurring losses due to a significant reduction in its aircraft fleet, which was reportedly reduced to just one aircraft in its final months.
Since then, the new company, LIAT Air, has attempted to resume operations on a more cautious basis without taking on the airline’s previous debt burden.
Attempting recovery in a fractured market
Today, the Caribbean aviation landscape is being reshaped around smaller operators and more deliberate strategies.
Airlines such as LIAT Air, Sky High and Sunrise Airways are trying to fill the void left by a series of bankruptcies by adopting more flexible models, including gradual expansion, limited capacity growth and various partnerships.
While this restructuring reflects market adaptation, it also creates supply shortages that raise questions about long-term sustainability and network consistency.
Rethinking models in an ongoing crisis
The collapse of Air Antilles comes at a particularly tense moment for the airline industry.
Jet fuel costs, which can account for 30 to 40 percent of operating costs, continue to place a significant strain on financial balances. This volatility has led some airlines to reduce flights or suspend routes for the upcoming season.
In this environment, some French airlines appear more resilient, such as Air Caraïbes, Air France and Saint-Barth Commuter. Their strength lies in a more integrated business model that combines long-haul operations and regional services while adjusting capacity seasonally.
The long-term viability of regional aviation therefore appears to increasingly depend on integration with long-haul networks, allowing airlines to jointly manage costs and optimize passenger flows. In contrast, models based solely on inter-island pathways appear structurally weak.
In this context, support mechanisms targeting key cost drivers can still play a role. This could include targeted support for skilled aviation jobs, as well as strong territorial continuity mechanisms through public service obligations or tax and social burden relief.
Beyond the successive airline failures, the future of Caribbean aviation ultimately raises an important strategic question: the connectivity of the island territories.
Ensuring sustainable connectivity in dispersed regions heavily dependent on air transport requires a fundamental rethinking of economic models, taking into account both structural constraints in the market and ongoing changes in the aviation sector.
Because ultimately, the disappearance of Air Antilles is no exception.
This is a sign that there are still models that need to be reinvented.
Caroline Romney is a tourism and transportation consultant. Based in the French Caribbean.
