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An airline has filed for bankruptcy as it could no longer meet its financial obligations. Air Antilles is a French regional airline that serves the French Antilles, which are overseas territories in the Caribbean. The French Antilles consists of holiday hotspots that are popular for tourists travelling around the area, such as Guadeloupe, St Barts, Martinique and part of Saint Martin. Based in Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, the airline served popular destinations such as Barbados, Dominica andSaint Lucia.

However, the airline has now filed for bankruptcy at the PointeàPitre Mixed Commercial Court in Guadeloupe. In an internal letter to staff from Louis Mussington, Chairman of Air Antilles' Board of Directors, the move was confirmed. He said that considerable efforts were made to rescue the business, but despite this, it still failed to meet its financial obligations. He also thanked employees for their professionalism. Mussington revealed that the suspension of the Airline Operator Certificate and Air Transport License in December resulted in the company losing important revenue during its high season.

It is understood that the airline filed a request for judicial restructuring with the court in PointeàPitre after efforts to attract new investors failed. The case will now go in front of a court, which will decide if the business will enter liquidation or if it will be opened for reorganisation.

The airline's Air Operator Certificate has been suspended by the French Civil Aviation Safety Directorate after shortcomings in its safety documentation. This worsened its financial situation as December is a busy travel season in the Caribbean.

The airline has more than 100 employees. A decision by the court is expected by February.

Air Antilles was first launched in 2002 and was then owned by Air Guyane Express. The company reported that it carried more than 180,000 passengers in the last financial year.

The internal letter to staff said that the future of the company "will be up to the court to grant us the opportunity to restructure the company, or to rule on liquidation."

The Collectivity of Saint-Martin, the majority shareholder, invested nearly €20 million (around £17.4 million) of public funds into the company since its takeover in 2023. This means that liquidation would result in a near-loss of investment.