Issued by different aviation regulatory agencies in a given country, the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) is the single most critical license an airline needs to begin running commercial flights.
It is issued once a new carrier proves that it has the needed planes, staff, safety systems, and financial resources to remain viable in the long term. It can also be revoked if the airline’s circumstances change.
Although sometimes airlines lose AOCs due to failed safety audits, this most often happens when a carrier starts out with funding but runs up heavy debt along the way (aviation is a naturally expensive industry).
Moalem Aviation loses AOC, has four planes seized by the government: report
Examples of airlines that lost AOCs over financial issues in 2026 include British charter carrier Pen-Avia, Estonia-based SmartLynx Airlines, Austrian airline Mali Air, and Ireland’s Westair Aviation.
The most recent instance, first reported by Swiss outlet ch-aviation, is Moalem Aviation. Launched in 2021 in the small Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, Moalem Aviation last had a recorded fleet of four Airbus A300 planes and flew charter flights to the capital of Bishkek.
Related: Major airline pilot arrested for flying without a license
The carrier also fulfilled various general aviation contracts for transportation of cargo and pharmaceuticals.
“We are proud of the fact that our aircraft have logged over 3,700 flight hours and transported more than 18 million tons of cargo,” Moalem Aviation writes on its website in translation from Russian.
“The company also carries out socially significant air transport operations and fulfills government contracts for Kyrgyzstan.”
What happens when an airline loses its operating license
While Moalem has not commented, and exact details on its situation remain scarce, it now reportedly no longer has a valid AOC, leaving it unable to operate any flights.
Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south and China to the east and southeast. With a population of just over 7.4 million people and a low GDP, it has always faced a tough aviation market that, as a former USSR colony, also depended heavily on Russia.
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After the latter country was hit by sanctions after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia also saw its aviation industry collapse.
While government data coming out of the country have not been reliable, recent reports show that at least 30 Russian airlines have either already filed for bankruptcy in the last year or are at immediate risk of doing so in the coming months.
These airlines 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.
- Magnicharters: While not yet fully shut down, the Mexican low-cost airline canceled all 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.
Related: Another airline files for bankruptcy protection, cancels flights
