In order to secure the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) required of any airline that transports paying passengers, an airline needs to prove to regulators that it has the necessary planes, staff, financial resources and safety systems in place.
Common reasons to lose an AOC include running out of funds and a failed safety audit. This week, Australian regional carrier AGAIR lost its AOC two years after a crash that killed three people in New Zealand while over in the U.S. the FAA issued an emergency order stripping Houston-based charter airline Starflite Aviation of its AOC on suspicion of it falsifying records on the training of its pilots.
The latest airline to see both its AOC and “certificate of airworthiness” suspended is Malta-based private carrier Harmony Jets. The decision follows a December 2025 accident in which a Falcon 50 jet carrying Libyan officials back home after diplomatic meetings in Türkiye crashed 15 minutes after takeoff and killed eight of the people on board.
Harmony Jets loses AOC after crash that killed eight people in December 2025
The victims included Libyan army chief of staff General Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad and Libya’s head of ground forces Brigadier General Mahmoud Al-Qatawi. The airline had previously done a lot of business in Libya and with Libyan clients.
The findings of the investigation into the crash conducted by Transport Malta over the last three months were not immediately made public but it is currently unable to operate until the AOC and certificate of airworthiness are both reinstated.
Harmony Jets denied early reports that it had completely shut down operations with a statement that it plans to “focus fully on ongoing discussions with authorities and its advisors, in a spirit of rigorous compliance.”
Image source: Shutterstock
“The company does not plan to cease its activities”: Harmony Jets
“The company does not plan to cease its activities and continues its strategic thinking for the future,” the statement reads further. “However, to clarify the current operational situation, it should be noted that the company’s charter activity (on-demand flights) is currently temporarily suspended.”
Harmony Jets has a reported fleet of four Falcon aircraft that it used for short flights in the Mediterranean region.
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Regional airlines that recently filed for bankruptcy:
- Spirit Airlines (Spirit Aviation Holdings, Inc.): Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time on August 29, 2025.
- Ravn Alaska: Ceased operations in August 2025 after earlier Chapter 11 proceedings; shut down flights and folded into other operations such as New Pacific.
- Corporate Air: Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (restructuring) in September 2025 as part of a planned sale, according to Bondoro.
- Play Airlines: The Reykjavik-based airline shut down operations and entered involuntary bankruptcy in September 2025.
- Braathens Airlines: The airline was forced to file for bankruptcy and canceled all of its flights in September 2025.
On its website, Harmony Jets advertised both charter flights and aircraft repair. Immediately before the crash, the pilot operating the flight reported an electrical fault to ground authorities and requested an emergency landing from ground authorities before losing contact with air traffic control.
Related: After Chapter 11 bankruptcy, airline makes surprising comeback
