While many smaller airlines already struggle to stay in business due to the astronomical costs of being in aviation, the price of jet fuel that spiked after the attack on Iran has dealt unexpected blows to many additional carriers this year.

Mexican holiday carrier Magnicharters filed for bankruptcy protection in June after abruptly canceling all of its flights for what it initially said would just be two weeks in May. Meanwhile, Argentine low-cost airline Flybondi was banned from selling tickets on flights to Brazil after canceling more than 79% of its flights in July due to fuel costs.

In order to avoid a full collapse and relaunch during better times, Maldives-based BeOnd — which flew tourists to the remote island nation of The Maldives from different parts of the world — shut down for the summer amid both the high cost of jet fuel and fluctuating security situation at its main base in Dubai.

Bamboo Airways suspends regular flight operations, stops selling tickets

The latest carrier reported to have stopped selling tickets in August 2026 is Vietnamese hybrid carrier Bamboo Airways.

Launched out of Ho Chi Minh City with a fleet of 24 Airbus A321neos planes in 2019, Bamboo Airways flew a large domestic network of routes between cities like Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Da Nang and Phu Quoc. International routes to cities in Thailand, Australia and Germany ran for brief periods post-pandemic before getting terminated while routes to China, Japan and Taiwan operate on a charter basis.

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As first reported by Aviation Direct, only one of Bamboo Airways’ Airbus A321-200 planes remains in active service as the airline has stopped selling tickets and not published a flight schedule beyond August 22, 2026.

If one tries to enter routes that Bamboo Airways ran in July on the Bamboo Airways website for a date in August, pop-ups reading “all flights unavailable” and “no flights found” come up instead of suggested flights.

Bamboo Airways ran a large network of flights to different destinations in Vietnam.

Image source: Shutterstock

What’s happening with Bamboo Airways in August 2026?

While Bamboo Airways could not be reached for comment on its situation, the current reporting is that the airline is running exclusively individual charter flights arranged ahead of time.

The refund policy stated on the Bamboo Airways website states that customers with canceled flights will be issued within seven to 14 business days although customer complaints over unpaid refunds are what prompted past legal action and complaints against the airline.

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In March 2022, founder of Bamboo Airways parent company Trịnh Văn Quyết and several other of its key people were arrested over alleged stock market manipulation, fraud and appropriation of properties.

While Bamboo Airways did not face direct disruption or legal action as a result, the poor reputational look and loss of millions in funding led Bamboo Airways to having to scale down its operations to a single active jet — a situation that was further exacerbated by jet fuel prices spiking after February 2026.

Airlines that have filed for bankruptcy in 2026:

  • Spirit Airlines: The largest airline shutdown of the year occurred when Spirit Airlines canceled all remaining flights on May 2. Although the airline had filed for Chapter 11 protection twice before, the skyrocketing price of jet fuel dealt the final blow to its operations.
  • Magnicharters: The Mexican low-cost airline canceled all of its flights until May 2026 in a shutdown that left thousands stranded.
  • Starflite Aviation: Houston-based Starflite Aviation had its AOC license revoked in March 2026, amid FAA claims that owners falsified pilot training records to bypass safety audits.
  • AlpAvia: Slovenian charter airline AlpAvia also shut down in March 2026 over financial problems.
  • H-Bird: Charter airline H-Bird was declared bankrupt by a Swedish judge after losing its operating license at the end of 2025.

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