While filing for bankruptcy is often a step toward saving a struggling company, a number of airlines saw their finances reach a point beyond any possible rescue in 2025.
After months of losing airport slots and unfruitful attempts to find a bankruptcy buyer, Florida-based Silver Airways told travelers with booked tickets to “not go to the airport” before shutting down operations in June.
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European carrier Air Belgium similarly shut down in 2025, while back in the U.S., Spirit Airlines (SAVE) earlier this week filed documents saying there is “substantial doubt” as to whether it will be able to stay in business with over $3.8 billion in debt and flagging traffic.
Launched in 2004 out of Singapore Changi Airport (SNG), Jetstar Asia was an offshoot of Australia’s Qantas Airways (QABSY) that the airline established just a few months after its main budget carrier Jetstar.
Jetstar Asia launched in 2004 in a very different airline market
While Jetstar was launched as a low-cost carrier between Australian cities and to several nearby international destinations, its Asia offshoot was envisioned as offering similar service between Asian cities.
But after nearly 21 years in business (the airline took its first flight to Hong Kong from Singapore in November 2004), Jetstar Asia ran its last flight on July 31 from Manila to Singapore. Qantas had earlier announced that high supplier fees and airport fees made pouring resources into the additional branch unsustainable.
The airline branch was set to lose AU$35 million (roughly $22.82 million USD) by the end of 2025; the closure has cost the industry 500 jobs, while the 13 Airbus (EADSF) planes used by the airline will be redirected to run Australian flights by the main Jetstar.
The website for the branch now states that “Jetstar Asia ceased operations on 31 July 2025.”
Image source: Shutterstock
“Materially changed its cost base”: Qantas CEO
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson called the shutdown of the airline “a very tough day” for both the parent company and the Jetstar Asia team that worked to expand the carrier’s reach in Asia.
“Despite their best efforts, we have seen some of Jetstar Asia’s supplier costs increase by up to 200%, which has materially changed its cost base,” Hudson said in June 2025.
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The main Australian Jetstar as well as Jetstar Japan, which launched in 2012 and runs mostly domestic flights within the country, will continue to operate as usual.
With the domestic markets in these countries marked by significantly lower competition, Jetstar was able to carve out a niche amid budget-conscious travelers. The wider Asian continent, meanwhile, has over 50 low-cost airlines — among them big names such as AirAsia in Malaysia, India’s IndiGo, and Singapore Airlines’ (SINGF) low-cost offshoot Scoot.
On July 31, a crew of JetStar airline staff touched down at Changi Airport for the final time in a closing gate ceremony attended by staff who worked for the airline.
“Cabin crew, for one last time, let’s go home,” the cabin manager said before the flight took off from Manila in an emotional moment that went viral in aviation social media outlets.
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