33-year-old airline facing bankruptcy, asset sale | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

While low-cost airlines like Play and Braathens were among several carriers that abruptly shut down operations in bankruptcy over the last two months, the case of Turkish low-cost carrier Onur Air dates back almost five years.

The budget carrier was founded out of Istanbul in 1992 and quickly grew into one of the country’s leading airlines beyond flag carrier Turkish Airlines.

At its peak, Onur Air had a fleet of 33 primarily Airbus and some McDonnell Douglas MD-80 planes and flew both domestic routes across Türkiye and 20 international routes to countries like France, Germany, Austria, Azerbaijan, and Russia.

But amid the travel dropoff that occurred during the Covid pandemic in 2020, Onur Air ran into significant financial challenges and lost its license to operate from the Turkish government. While Onur Air has not operated any flights since 2022, a Turkish commercial court officially declared the airline bankrupt on November 5 and ordered it to liquidate.

Amid promises of a turnaround, “no investment materialized” for beleaguered airline

Stalled bankruptcy proceedings were reactivated after over 1,800 former Onur Air employees tried to seek legal action over nonpayment of salaries dating back to 2020.

“On October 14, 2024, it was revealed that the company had failed to pay the salaries and severance pay of approximately 1,800 employees,” Turkish outlet Air News Times reports. “[…] It was alleged that company management kept employees waiting for a long time with statements that ‘a new partner would be found,’ but no investment materialized.”

The airline was the first non-state airline that emerged after Türkiye opened its domestic air sector to private business in 2003.

“For many years, [Onur Air] played an active role in domestic and international charter flights and was a leading company in the growth of the private sector in Turkish civil aviation,” Air News Times reports further. “However, post-pandemic economic pressures, increased operational costs, and deterioration in its financial structure have made the company’s sustainability difficult.”

Onur Air has not operated any flights since 2022.

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These are some of the airlines that shut down or went bankrupt in 2025

The next steps in the liquidation include reevaluation of Onur Air’s financial situation and past sales, sale of any remaining assets, and a last-minute search for any investors willing to take on the brand.

The last months of 2025 brought with them a number of airline shutdowns and bankruptcies over similar issues of high operational costs and competition for the same passengers.

Spirit Airlines (Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc.): Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on August 29, 2025.
Verijet: Filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October 2025, canceled all flights, and ceased operations.
Corporate Air: Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (restructuring) in September 2025 as part of a planned sale.
Silver Airways: Filed for Chapter 11 (initially in December 2024) and then ceased operations entirely in June 2025.
Kachina Air, Inc.: Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 24, 2025.
Ravn Alaska: Ceased operations in August 2025 after earlier Chapter 11 proceedings; shut down flights and folded into other operations.

More on travel:

Two Scandinavian airlines, Play and Braathens Aviation, both left thousands of travelers stranded after suddenly canceling all flights within a few days of each other in September.

U.S.-based charter airlines Verijet and Kachina Air also had to shut down their operations this fall.