Top 10 Oldest Airlines Still Operating

The oldest airlines ranked here use founding or lineage dates for carriers still flying scheduled passenger service under their own brand in 2026. Rank is by the founding or lineage date each still-operating airline counts from, and only airlines that still flew scheduled passenger service under their own brand in 2026 are included ^[1][2]. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, founded in The Hague on 7 October 1919, is first, and it is still flying under the name it was founded with ^[1][2]. Avianca is second, counting from 5 December 1919, when it was founded as Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transporte Aéreo, or SCADTA; the Avianca name dates from 14 June 1940, after SCADTA was combined with Servicio Aéreo Colombiano ^[1][3]. Qantas is third, registered on 16 November 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, and the airline itself describes that history as the longest continuously operating airline in the world, a claim about uninterrupted operation rather than a claim to be the earliest founded ^[1][4]. Those three facts can sit in the same table only if founding date, later name changes, and the continuous-operation claim are labelled.

Czech Airlines, long a fixture of oldest-airline lists after a 1923 founding, flew its last flight under its own OK code on 26 October 2024, and it is therefore excluded from a 2026 still-operating ten ^[1]. Deutsche Lufthansa of 1926 was liquidated after the Second World War; today's Lufthansa was founded in 1953 and began scheduled flights in 1955, a legal foundation the airline itself distinguishes from the earlier name, so it is not placed here as a silent 1926 carrier ^[1]. British Airways, formed in 1974, has earlier ancestors, and it is not given a silent 1919 founding. Aeroflot, Finnair, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Iberia, and LOT Polish Airlines complete this labelled lineage ten.

Key Facts

The ten below are the still-operating lineage leaders as of 2026: KLM, 7 October 1919, under its original name; Avianca, 5 December 1919 as SCADTA, Avianca name 14 June 1940; Qantas, 16 November 1920; Aeroflot, tracing to the civil-aviation decree of 9 February 1923 and to Dobrolet on 17 March 1923, with the Aeroflot name adopted in 1932; Finnair, 1 November 1923 as Aero O/Y; Delta Air Lines, 2 March 1925 as Huff Daland Dusters, with a later passenger-service gap labelled; United Airlines, 6 April 1926 as Varney Air Lines, counting from airmail service; American Airlines, 15 April 1926 as Robertson Aircraft Corporation; Iberia, 28 June 1927; and LOT Polish Airlines, 29 December 1928 ^[1][2][4][5]. Rank 1 is the outstanding official founding date of a still-named, still-flying airline.

A later official cessation, or a later documented break in a company chain, will belong in a revision of the ten, not as an unlabelled change to the method. The table is the official spine: a lineage date, a still-flying test, and no unofficial 1926 Lufthansa or 1923 Czech Airlines substitution is smuggled in as a 2026 operating fact.

Oldest Airlines Still Operating at a Glance

1. KLM

KLM was founded in The Hague on 7 October 1919 as Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, and it is still flying scheduled passenger service under that original name, the outstanding official case of an earliest still-named airline ^[1][2]. The airline marked 107 years on 7 October 2026. This article records the official 7 October 1919 founding. It is first on founding date, and first on the original-name test.

It is first as the outstanding official 7 October 1919 founding, a labelled fact, and the documentary centre of this ten ^[1][2]. A later official cessation would belong in a revision of the ten.

Official KLM company-history accounts are the source ^[2].

2. Avianca

Avianca counts from 5 December 1919, when Sociedad Colombo Alemana de Transporte Aéreo, or SCADTA, was founded, and the Avianca name dates from 14 June 1940 after SCADTA was combined with Servicio Aéreo Colombiano ^[1][3]. The figure is a lineage date, not a claim that the present legal name is as old as KLM's, and not a silent original-name tie with KLM. This article records the 5 December 1919 lineage date and the 1940 name. It is second on founding date and second in the Americas.

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It is second as the outstanding official 5 December 1919 lineage date, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to KLM and Qantas ^[1][3]. The 1940 name change does not reset the lineage date in this method.

Official and standard Avianca history accounts are the source ^[3].

3. Qantas

Qantas was registered on 16 November 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, and the airline describes itself as the longest continuously operating airline in the world, a claim about uninterrupted operation rather than a claim to be older than KLM or Avianca ^[1][4]. Scheduled services began later, in 1922, a later operational date that this article labels rather than uses as a silent founding. This article records the official 16 November 1920 registration. It is third on founding date and first on the company's own continuous-operation claim.

It is third as the outstanding official 16 November 1920 registration, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to KLM and Avianca ^[1][4]. The continuous-operation claim is recorded as a claim, not as a reordering of the founding dates.

Official Qantas history accounts are the source ^[4].

4. Aeroflot

Aeroflot traces its lineage to the Soviet civil-aviation decree of 9 February 1923 and to the Russian Society of the Voluntary Air Fleet, or Dobrolet, established on 17 March 1923, and the Aeroflot name was adopted in 1932 ^[5]. This article records both early 1923 dates and the later name, rather than inventing a single silent founding day. The airline still flies scheduled passenger service under the Aeroflot brand in 2026. It is fourth on this labelled lineage, after Qantas and before Finnair.

It is fourth as the outstanding official 1923 Russian civil-aviation lineage, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Finnair ^[5]. A later official history that selects only one of the two 1923 dates will belong in a revision of the wording, not as an unlabelled change of rank.

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Official Aeroflot jubilee and standard lineage accounts are the source ^[5].

5. Finnair

Finnair counts from 1 November 1923, when it was founded as Aero O/Y, and it still flies scheduled passenger service under the later official Finnair name ^[1]. The figure is a lineage date, not a claim that the present name is as old as KLM's, and not a silent combination with other Nordic carriers. This article records the official 1 November 1923 founding. Czech Airlines, also founded in 1923, is no longer in this still-operating ten.

It is fifth as the outstanding official 1 November 1923 founding, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Aeroflot and Delta ^[1]. The later name does not reset the lineage date in this method.

Standard official Finnair history accounts are the source ^[1].

6. Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines counts from 2 March 1925, when Huff Daland Dusters, a crop-dusting company, was incorporated, and passenger service began in 1929, later lapsed, and then resumed, a passenger-service gap that this article labels rather than hides ^[1][6]. The figure is a lineage date from the company's own history, not a claim that scheduled passenger flying has been continuous since 1925. This article records the official 2 March 1925 incorporation and the later passenger-service facts. It is the outstanding official United States lineage in this ten by founding date.

It is sixth as the outstanding official 2 March 1925 lineage date, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to United and American ^[1][6]. The passenger-service gap is part of the cell, not a reason to drop the lineage silently or to promote a later restart as the founding.

Official Delta historical accounts are the source ^[6].

7. United Airlines

United Airlines counts from 6 April 1926, the start of airmail service by Varney Air Lines in this official lineage, a date nine days earlier than the American Airlines lineage date used in the same method ^[1]. The figure is a lineage start, not the later United Air Lines company-name date, and not a silent claim of passenger service on that April day. This article records the official 6 April 1926 lineage date.

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It is seventh as the outstanding official 6 April 1926 lineage date, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to American Airlines ^[1]. A later official anniversary that uses a different corporate date will belong in a labelled note.

Standard official United lineage accounts are the source ^[1].

8. American Airlines

American Airlines counts from 15 April 1926, the lineage start associated with Robertson Aircraft Corporation in official anniversary accounts, nine days after the United lineage date ^[1]. The figure is a lineage start, not the later American Airways or American Airlines company-name date, and not a silent tie with United. This article records the official 15 April 1926 lineage date. American's 100th anniversary accounts in 2026 use this lineage.

It is eighth as the outstanding official 15 April 1926 lineage date, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to United and Iberia ^[1]. A later official anniversary that uses a different corporate date will belong in a labelled note.

Standard official American lineage accounts are the source ^[1].

9. Iberia

Iberia was founded on 28 June 1927 as Iberia, Compañía Aérea de Transporte, and it still flies scheduled passenger service under the Iberia name ^[1]. The figure is an official founding date, not a later Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana corporate reconstitution used as a silent reset, and not a silent combination with British Airways, with which it shares a holding company. This article records the official 28 June 1927 founding.

It is ninth as the outstanding official 28 June 1927 founding, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to LOT ^[1]. The later holding-company structure does not reset the founding date in this method.

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Standard official Iberia history accounts are the source ^[1].

10. LOT Polish Airlines

LOT Polish Airlines was founded on 29 December 1928 as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT, and it still flies scheduled passenger service under the LOT brand ^[1]. Czech Airlines, founded in 1923, flew its last flight under its own OK code on 26 October 2024 and is therefore just outside this still-operating ten, not a silent fifth-place returnee ^[1]. This article records the official 29 December 1928 founding. Hawaiian Airlines, LATAM, and Cubana, all counting from 1929, sit just after this ten on the same method.

It is tenth as the outstanding official 29 December 1928 founding, a labelled fact, and a necessary counterpart to Iberia ^[1]. A later official cessation would belong in a revision of the ten.

Standard official LOT history accounts are the source ^[1].

Conclusion

A 2026 oldest-airlines list has to keep KLM at 7 October 1919 under its original name, keep Avianca at a 5 December 1919 SCADTA lineage with a 1940 name, and keep Qantas at 16 November 1920 with its continuous-operation claim labelled as a claim rather than as a reordering of founding dates ^[1][2][4]. Aeroflot, Finnair, Delta, United, American, Iberia, and LOT complete a still-flying ten in which Czech Airlines after 26 October 2024, and today's Lufthansa after a 1953 legal foundation, are excluded rather than silently restored ^[1]. The useful habit is a lineage date, a still-operating test, and a refusal to mix a later company of the same name into an earlier founding.

A later official cessation will belong in a revision of the ten; it will not change the method. Those labelled lineage dates are the spine of the list, and they will still be the spine after a later anniversary year has restated a corporate history in a later year.