A significant airline has gone into administration – with all flights grounded. Royal Air Philippines has suspended all business providers.
Royal Air Philippines out of the blue announced after Christmas that it was halting all business operations, throwing journey plans into chaos for roughly 4,000 passengers holding tickets through to March 2026.
The airline’s web site says: “We are working on providing refunds and hope to resume flights at an unspecified date in the future. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We eagerly anticipate welcoming you aboard soon.”
Royal Air’s CEO Eduardo Novillas cautioned the collapse follows “significantly low” curiosity from key markets.
International passenger figures dropped to 51,800 in 2025.
It represented a dramatic decline from the 100,000 to 116,000 worldwide passengers the service transported in 2023 and 2024.
Domestic visitors, meanwhile, plummeted by 63 p.c to merely 38,800 passengers. Consequently, the airline’s web site confirmed it would “suspend its commercial passenger operations effective 04 January 2026,” according to an advisory posted December 29, 2025.
Jetsetter Guide cautioned: “The collapse of Royal Air leaves a gap in the Philippine aviation market, though it’s unclear whether competitors will rush to fill those routes or if they’ll determine the demand just wasn’t there to begin with.” For travellers, “the lesson here is painfully clear,” warned Jetsetter Guide, including: “Booking with smaller carriers always carries risk, especially when you’re buying tickets months in advance.
“Travel insurance coverage that covers airline chapter is price contemplating, significantly if you’re flying a finances service you have not heard much about. Industry observers level to rising fuel prices, intense competitors, and fluctuating demand as ongoing pressures for smaller carriers like Royal Air.”
No data was supplied regarding the future of its cargo operations. However, as of 6 February 2026, flight monitoring service Flightradar24 confirms the airline is still working cargo flights.
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