All-A380 Global Airlines Shutting Down After Court Order

Global Airlines, the British startup that wanted to fly an all-Airbus A380 fleet across the Atlantic, has been ordered into compulsory liquidation.

A notice published today in The London Gazette confirms the U.K.’s High Court of Justice made a winding-up order against the company last week.

It’s an abrupt end for a carrier that only ever flew 2 round-trips with paying passengers, despite generating a ton of buzz (and skepticism) along the way.

Here’s what the ruling means and what might happen next for Global Airlines.

The Court Order and What It Means for Global Airlines

The order follows a winding-up petition filed on May 29, 2026, by Jessica Huffman Reese, a U.S.-based creditor. It was the third petition against Global Airlines in just over a year.

The earlier petitions, filed in August 2025 and March 2026, were both withdrawn. However, this filing went to hearings on July 15 and September 2, 2026, and the court ultimately ruled against the airline, as reported by One Mile at a Time.

To put this into context, the petition was merely a request for a court to get involved. The winding-up order is the court’s final decision, and it places the company into compulsory liquidation. The Official Receiver, who’s an officer of the U.K.’s Insolvency Service, was appointed to the role on November 4.

There are a few practical applications.

First, James Asquith, the CEO, and the board no longer run the airline. Now, the Official Receiver does.

The Receiver’s job is to look into the company’s affairs and how the directors behaved, collect whatever assets are left, and pay creditors from the proceeds of liquidation. Company bank accounts are usually frozen once an order like this is made.

What Happens Next for Global Airlines?

The biggest question is what happens to the airline’s only real asset.

That’s aircraft 9H-GLOBL, the Airbus A380 that used to fly for China Southern, which has been parked at Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport in southern France since July 16, 2025. The jet is overdue for its 12-year heavy maintenance check.

Finding a buyer willing to pay for that work on a secondhand superjumbo will be hard, to put it mildly. There are numerous rumors across the airline industry that selling it for parts or scrapping it seem like more likely outcomes.

Can Global Airlines fight the court order? It has 2 options if it chooses to.

Under U.K. insolvency rules, a company can ask the court to rescind a winding-up order. That request must be filed within 5 business days. That deadline came and went on November 11, although a court can still hear a late request.

The airline can also appeal the decision, which typically must be filed within 21 days. Rescinding an order like this is rare and tends to be reserved for situations in which a company’s circumstances have changed since the order was issued.

At the time of writing, neither Global Airlines nor Asquith has said anything publicly about the ruling. That’s notable, because as recently as June 2026, Asquith said the A380 would fly again before the end of the year. He also promised a second aircraft and flights between the U.K. and the Maldives.

Those haven’t happened yet, and the winding-up order makes them look extremely unlikely.

A Brief History of Global Airlines

• July 2021: James Asquith, founder of Holiday Swap, announces Global Airlines.
• May 2023: The airline says it purchased its first A380, a former Singapore Airlines jet, from Doric Aviation. That plane never entered service with the airline.
• November 2023: We interviewed Asquith at the Dubai Airshow, where he says he “considered other aircraft for about 10 minutes.”
• December 2023: Global Airlines releases its first cabin renderings, designed by Factorydesign.
• February 2024: The carrier takes full ownership of a different A380, the former China Southern jet MSN 120, which gets registered as 9H-GLOBL.
• April 2025: Tickets go on sale through a third-party travel agency for one-off charter round-trips from both Glasgow and Manchester to New York (JFK).
• May 2025: The A380 flies from Barcelona to Berlin before continuing to London Gatwick.
• May 2025: The first flight with paying passengers departs Glasgow for JFK. Hi Fly operates it since Global didn’t have its own operating certificate.
• May 2025: The second round-trip departs Manchester with one of our team members on board. We interviewed the CEO during the flight.
• May 2025: Reports that Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company is negotiating a stake in the airline. Global denies a related report that it plans to become a wet-lease operator.
• July 2025: The airline’s sole plane is placed in storage at Tarbes, where it remains today.
• August 2025 and March 2026: Winding-up petitions are filed and later withdrawn.
• December 2025: The airline leased an A340-300 aircraft, which was surprising given its all-A380 marketing.
• May 2026: A third petition is filed.
• November 2026: The High Court issues the winding-up order, which is published online.

Final Thoughts

Plenty of people said Global Airlines would never carry a paying passenger, and it proved them wrong on that point. The catering we experienced on the Manchester flight was top-notch for business class dining.

However, flying 2 chartered round-trip journeys doesn’t constitute an airline. Global Airlines never got its own operating certificate, never got more planes, and never sold a scheduled flight. Unless the company wins a challenge in the next few weeks, the all-A380 airline is finished.