Claim:
American Airlines announced it was shutting down in November 2025.
Rating:
In November 2025, a rumor spread online that American Airlines, one of the largest commercial airlines in the world, was shutting down. People began searching Google (archived) for information on the airline potentially shutting down and searched the Snopes website for information on the rumor, too.
The rumor spread on social media sites including TikTok (archived).
The rumor was not true. It stemmed from confusion regarding the shuttering of another, much smaller airline.
American Airlines did not announce it was shutting down or going out of business on its website. On Nov. 6, 2025, the airline announced the Federal Aviation Administration directed it to reduce its number of flights due to the government shutdown. This announcement made no mention of financial issues in explaining the reasoning for the reduction in flights.
Snopes reached out to American Airlines by email for confirmation, but did not receive a response prior to publishing. We will update this story with American Airlines’ response if it sends one.
The airline did announce it cut a “small” number of management and support roles, The Associated Press reported on Nov. 4. However, these layoffs did not amount to the entire company closing its doors.
The rumor appeared to stem from people misunderstanding a post by British tabloid Daily Mail, which on Nov. 4 posted an image with the words “American airline announces immediate shutdown after 66 years of service.”
(Daily Mail on Facebook)
The “American airline” the Daily Mail referred to in its story was not American Airlines, but Kenai Aviation, a small airline that serves a handful of Alaskan communities.
Kenai Aviation posted an update on its website (archived) and to Facebook (archived) explaining the company was financially insolvent due to the debt load it built up during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, even though Kenai Aviation was stopping its operations immediately, the company’s owner sought investors so that it could continue operating once more.
“While today all flights cease operations, who knows what tomorrow will hold,” Joel Caldwell, the owner of Kenai Aviation, wrote in the update.
There was no evidence that Kenai Aviation was linked to American Airlines. Snopes asked American if any link existed when it emailed the airline.
For further reading, Snopes has previously fact-checked several other claims regarding American Airlines.
