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

1 hour ago

Updated: 12/05/2026

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	Delta Air Lines	United States	1924	102
8	United Airlines	United States	1926	100
9	Jat Airways	Serbia	1927	99
10	Iberia Airlines	Spain	1927	99
11	LOT Polish Airlines	Poland	1929	97
12	American Airlines	United States	1930	96
13	Brussels Airlines	Belgium	1931	95
14	Air India	India	1932	94
15	Turkish Airlines	Turkey	1933	93
16	South African Airways	South Africa	1934	92
17	Aer Lingus	Ireland	1936	90
18	Air Canada	Canada	1937	89
19	Air New Zealand	New Zealand	1940	86
20	Philippine Airlines	Philippines	1941	85
21	Ethiopian Airlines	Ethiopia	1945	81
22	Alitalia	Italy	1946	80
23	Scandinavian Airlines System	Sweden	1946	80
24	Cathay Pacific	Hong Kong	1946	80
25	Singapore Airlines Cargo	Singapore	1947	79
26	El Al Israel Airlines	Israel	1948	78
27	Gulf Air Bahrain	Bahrain	1950	76
28	Japan Airlines Domestic	Japan	1951	75
29	Lufthansa	Germany	1953	73
30	British Airways	United Kingdom	1974	52

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