Air Antilles was a French regional airline based at Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe. It operated scheduled and seasonal services throughout the French Antilles until 27 April 2026, when the Mixed Commercial Court of Pointe-à-Pitre placed it in judicial liquidation with immediate cessation of activity, ending more than 23 years of operation under the Air Antilles brand.

History

The airline began operations as Air Antilles Express on December 18, 2002, owned by Air Guyane Express, which itself used to be a subsidiary of Guadeloupean group CAIRE. It was a brand name for Air Guyane's Caribbean operations and both airlines share their call sign, IATA and ICAO codes. The airline used as its Airline Reservations System Zenith, developed by Travel Technology Interactive, a French-based company.

In 2016, the airline changed its name to Air Antilles and introduced a new livery with the delivery of its first ATR 72-600.

In September 2023, the group CAIRE, of which both Air Antilles and Air Guyane were a part, was terminated. Air Antilles was set to be revived by a public-private partnership, while Air Guyane was to be liquidated. Air Antilles resumed operations on July 22, 2024, with reduced service and fleet size. Since being acquired at the end of 2023 by the Collectivity of Saint-Martin, approximately €20 million in mostly public funds had been injected into the airline, which in 2025 carried more than 121,000 passengers and generated about €18 million in revenue.

2025 grounding and AOC suspension

In mid-2025, the airline lost its full air operator certificate (AOC) and was operating under a provisional license issued by France's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), conditional on improvements to its financial situation. The DGAC subsequently extended the provisional license until 31 January 2026, ending a series of monthly renewals and giving the airline time to seek private investors; the Collectivity of Saint-Martin, by then committed to the tune of €16 million, sought additional capital of around €10 million while attempting to retain control of the company. Seven candidate files were considered, including one from the Frankfurt-based investment group Panaf.

On 8 December 2025, the Antilles–Guyane branch of the French Civil Aviation Safety Directorate (DSAC) suspended Air Antilles's air operator certificate over what it described as shortcomings in the airline's operational and safety documentation, grounding all its aircraft. The airline halted all commercial and flight operations "until further notice", a decision it described as having been taken unilaterally by the DGAC, and noted that the suspension came in the middle of the high tourist season, depriving it of essential revenues.

Insolvency and court-led restructuring

In an internal letter to employees dated 16 January 2026, Louis Mussington, chairman of Air Antilles's board of directors and president of the Collectivity of Saint-Martin, announced that the airline had filed a declaration of cessation de paiements (insolvency) with the Mixed Commercial Court of Pointe-à-Pitre, citing the company's inability to meet its financial obligations following the suspension of its operating licence in early December 2025. The reorganisation was supervised by a court-appointed administrator, with the airline required to demonstrate sufficient cash flow to cover fuel, salaries and maintenance, and to persuade the DGAC to extend its AOC, which had officially expired on 1 January 2026. On Monday, 27 April 2026, the Mixed Commercial Court of Pointe-à-Pitre ordered the judicial liquidation of Air Antilles with immediate cessation of activity, after rejecting all takeover bids as insufficient given the airline's deteriorating financial situation. The decision left the airline's 116 employees without jobs.

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|rowspan="2"|||Marigot||Douglas–Charles Airport||align=center|Terminated ||

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|Roseau||Canefield Airport||align=center|Terminated||

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|rowspan="2"|||Punta Cana||Punta Cana International Airport||align=center|Terminated ||

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|Santo Domingo||Las Américas International Airport||align=center|Terminated ||

  • Winair

Interline agreements

  • Corsair International

Fleet

thumb|Air Antilles [[ATR 42-600]]

At the time of its final grounding in December 2025, Air Antilles operated the following aircraft:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

|+ Air Antilles final fleet

|-

!Aircraft

!In <br> service

!Passengers

!Notes

|-

|ATR 72-600

|2

|72

|

|-

|Viking DHC-6-400 Twin Otter

|1

|19

|

|-

!Total

!3

!

! colspan="2" |

|}

The airline previously operated the following aircraft:

  • 3 ATR 42-300
  • 4 ATR 42-500
  • 1 ATR 42-600
  • 4 de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter

Accidents and incidents

  • On August 24, 2023, Air Antilles flight 3S722 (operated by a DHC-6-400 Twin Otter registered F-OMYS) off runway 28 at the Saint Barthélemy airport moments after touchdown. The Twin Otter struck a parked and unoccupied helicopter that had landed 30 minutes prior. While none of the six on board were injured, the Twin Otter was seriously damaged, the high-speed impact caused substantial damage to both aircraft. The pilots blamed the loss of directional control on a steering issue. Furthermore, video evidence shows the aircraft having steering difficulties while taxiing at Saint Barth only ten days prior to the crash. Air Antilles was temporarily suspended from flying to Saint Barth following the accident.

See also

  • List of airlines of the Americas
  • List of defunct airlines of France

References

  • Air Antilles Express route map on archive.org