iAero Airways, the largest passenger charter and ACMI airline in the United States, ceased operations last weekend after a failed attempt to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The news was communicated to employees by President Timothy Rainey, according to a report from FreightWaves.
iAero operates a fleet of narrow-body cargo aircraft for DHL Express, as well as for other major clients such as the National Hockey League and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Its main base of operations is located at Miami International Airport.
According to Rainey, without the continuation of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from lenders or the securing of alternative financing, the airline was ordered to suspend all operations as of April 6.
iAero Airways had previously received DIP financing from Synovus Financial Corp., which allowed it to continue operating after filing for bankruptcy last September. However, the recent sale of 28 Boeing 737 aircraft to Eastern Airlines by Synovus has left iAero without the capacity to find a new partner to manage DHL’s cargo and other businesses.
Brief history of iAero
The airline was founded in 1997 as Swift Air and acquired by iAero Group in 2019. It is one of the few airlines in the United States that still operated older Boeing 737 Classic aircraft. Its fleet included a variety of models, used for both cargo and passengers:
- 8 Boeing 737-300.
- One Boeing 737-300 (F).
- 20 Boeing 737-400.
- 2 Boeing 737-400 (F).
- 5 Boeing 737-800.
- 9 Boeing 737-800 (BCF).
The demise of iAero Airways represents a significant change in the charter market, opening up opportunities for rivals such as Global Crossing Airlines and Eastern, also based in Miami, to capture customers.
All iAero employees will be compensated for work performed through April 6. A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge is expected to decide on April 8 whether to approve the sale of assets to Eastern Airlines.
