Oldest Airlines Still Operating

The world's oldest commercial airlines that are still flying today, ranked by founding date. Survival in commercial aviation is rare — most carriers from the early 20th century have long since folded or merged.

Airline

30 minutes ago

Updated: 19/08/2026

Rank	Airline	Country	Founded	Years active
1	KLM Royal Dutch Airlines	Netherlands	1919	107
2	Avianca - Aerovias Nacionales de Colombia	Colombia	1919	107
3	Qantas	Australia	1920	106
4	Aeroflot Russian Airlines	Russia	1923	103
5	Czech Airlines	Czechia	1923	103
6	Finnair	Finland	1923	103
7	Brussels Airlines	Belgium	1923	103
8	Delta Air Lines	United States	1924	102
9	American Airlines	United States	1926	100
10	United Airlines	United States	1926	100
11	Jat Airways	Serbia	1927	99
12	Iberia Airlines	Spain	1927	99
13	LOT Polish Airlines	Poland	1928	98
14	LAN Airlines	Chile	1929	97
15	Air India	India	1932	94
16	South African Airways	South Africa	1934	92
17	Aer Lingus	Ireland	1936	90
18	TAAG Angola Airlines	Angola	1938	88
19	Air New Zealand	New Zealand	1940	86
20	Philippine Airlines	Philippines	1941	85
21	Ethiopian Airlines	Ethiopia	1945	81
22	Scandinavian Airlines System	Sweden	1946	80
23	El Al Israel Airlines	Israel	1948	78
24	Aerolineas Argentinas	Argentina	1949	77
25	Lufthansa	Germany	1953	73
26	Tarom	Romania	1954	72
27	S7 Airlines	Russia	1957	69
28	Korean Air	South Korea	1969	57
29	British Airways	United Kingdom	1974	52
30	Air China	China	1988	38

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