Air Antilles is running out of options as crucial license deadline nears

MARIGOT--An exclusive interview published by RCI web on January 16, 2026 by RCI web and Mario Guiolet paints a stark picture of an airline trying to hold on, even as time and cash run short. In the piece Air Antilles executive Amine Tadjadit acknowledges that the carrier’s financial position does not meet regulatory expectations, and he says the company still has not secured investors with its operating license set to expire on January 31, 2026.

RCI’s reporting frames the moment as a real question of survival, asking whether Air Antilles could “disappear” again, with the license deadline acting like a hard stop after an extension granted during 2025. 138 jobs are now under threat, a figure that turns the dispute from a corporate struggle into a regional social and economic shock, especially for inter-island connectivity where Air Antilles has been one of the key links.

In the interview, Tadjadit tries to balance urgency with determination, pointing to customer support and staff effort as reasons the company keeps pushing forward. He says teams remain mobilized and are still responding to aviation authorities, but the decisive issue is money, not paperwork.

His message is that the airline needs investors, and without them it cannot satisfy the European licensing requirements that, he says, demand proof of sufficient funds to cover several months of operations. “We don’t have the funds today,” he states.

RCI connects the current crunch to the events of December 2025, when an audit by France’s civil aviation authority disrupted operations during a busy period. As Air Antilles’ air operator certificate was suspended, the company immediately halted rotations between Guadeloupe, Martinique, and the Northern Islands.

That suspension is also described in related reporting as being tied to “very significant” shortcomings that, according to the authority, prevented the airline from assuring passenger safety. The reporting explains that suspending the certificate also suspended the operating license and stopped ticket sales, while giving the company a window to implement corrective actions.

With revenue cut off and no new financing, Tadjadit warns the next step could be a formal declaration that the company can no longer pay its debts. In translated remarks, he says management has legal duties to protect employees and must consider filing a declaration of cessation of payments, followed by court-supervised restructuring or another outcome. He also notes a 45-day timeframe tied to going to the commercial court if the company cannot pay.

RCI’s interview captures a second theme alongside the cash crisis, frustration with the pace and handling of regulatory follow-up. Tadjadit claims the company answered all questions by December 30 through a documented exchange platform, then received no substantive response until January 9, which he describes as the deadline day. He says additional points were added late, making it harder to recover quickly, particularly because the airline no longer has income from flights.

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