Falcon Air Express was a charter airline which was based in Miami, Florida, United States. Falcon Air turned in its certificate to the FAA on June 5, 2015, following the loss of a contract with the US Department of Justice and mounting debt. Falcon Air Express also provided scheduled service from Miami to Curaçao under the banner Dutch Antilles Express, which also ceased service abruptly. Their remaining aircraft are currently at the Lakeland Linder International Airport.
The airline was established in 1995 and started operations in March 1996. It was privately owned and was founded by Emilio Dirube (President and Chief Executive). It was certified as a US domestic airline in 1998, operating the Boeing 727-200 to mostly Caribbean destinations.
In May 2006, Falcon Air Express filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and laid off 73 of its 169 employees. However, in 2009, it was bought by the Ramiz Family and after some years of restructuring, as of December 2011, they were once again employing over 150.
In the two months preceding the June 5, 2015, closure, the workforce was reduced to about 50 employees, all working with the promise they would be paid in the near future. When the company was finally closed, many of these employees were left owed the equivalent of over two months' salary.[citation needed]
In this airline's history there was a repossession on an aircraft. The tail number is unidentified, but the aircraft's wrecked nose section lays in hangar at the Lakeland Linder International Airport.
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