Southern Sky Air Tours, d/b/a Direct Air was an airline

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

based in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

, United States. Direct Air started in 2007 and leased aircraft with

charter airlines Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

. Its main base was

Myrtle Beach International Airport Myrtle Beach International Airport is a county-owned public-use airport. It is located southwest of the central business district of Myrtle Beach, in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It was formerly known as Myrtle Beach Jetpor ...

. Direct Air's flights were operated by

Sky King, Inc. Songbird Airways, Inc., established as Sky King, was a charter airline based in Miami, Florida. As ''Sky King'', it operated flights from Florida to Cuba on behalf of Customer Service Providers (CSPs). Sky King also conducted flights of deportees ...

Xtra Airways Avelo Airlines, Inc. () is an American ultra-low cost airline headquartered in Houston, Texas. It previously operated charter flights as ''Casino Express Airlines'' and ''Xtra Airways'' before transitioning to scheduled operations and rebrand ...

World Atlantic Airlines Caribbean Sun Airlines Inc., trading as World Atlantic Airlines is an airline in the United States operating on-demand and scheduled charter services. Its corporate headquarters are located in Virginia Gardens, Florida. History The airline was ...

, and USA Jet. In March 2012 Direct Air ceased operations, stranding many of its passengers. The airline planned to resume operations on May 15, 2012, although this was contested by the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

Information for Consumers Regarding the Cessation of Operations by Southern Sky Air Tours d/b/a Myrtle Beach Direct Air and Tours
The charter carrier was subject to

Chapter 7 Chapter Seven refers to a seventh Chapter (books), chapter in a book. Chapter Seven, Chapter 7, or Chapter VII may also refer to: Albums * Chapter Seven (album), ''Chapter Seven'' (album), a 2013 album by Damien Leith. * Chapter VII (album), ''Ch ...

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...

on April 12, 2012.

History

On November 14, 2006, Direct Air announced nonstop service from Myrtle Beach to Newark, Niagara Falls, and Plattsburgh, New York. On March 7, 2007, Direct Air (Myrtle Beach Direct Air at the time) started flying. The flights were being operated by

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retained the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating ...

aircraft until May 14, 2007, when Direct Air ended its relationship with

Direct Air's flights were then operated primarily by

and

Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...

aircraft. Occasionally, especially during peak travel periods, additional other operating carriers and aircraft types are used. These have included

jetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation, stylized as jetBlue, is an American major airline headquartered in Long Island City, in Queens, New York City. Primarily a point-to-point carrier, JetBlue's network features six focus cities including its main hub a ...

Sun Country Airlines Sun Country Airlines is an ultra-low cost airline in the United States. Based at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport with headquarters on airport property, Sun Country operates to about 140 destinations in the United States, Canad ...

Virgin America Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost airline headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Burlingame, California. It primarily focused on operating low-fare, higher-quality service between cities on the West Coast of the United States a ...

, USA Jet,

Dynamic Airways Eastern Airlines, LLC is an American airline headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The airline operates a mixed fleet of Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 aircraft. Originally founded in 2010 as Dynamic Airways, the company rebranded as Eastern Airli ...

Vision Airlines Vision Airlines, formerly Vision Air, was an airline that had its operations headquartered in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The airline also operated charter flights for their tour services in northern Arizona and Nevada including the Grand Canyon, Ma ...

, and

Miami Air Miami Air International was an American charter airline based in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It operated worldwide passenger charter flights for diverse groups including cruise operators, professional sports teams and the United St ...

. On March 12, 2012, Direct Air cancelled all of their charter flights throughout the United States.Bomkamp, Samantha
Direct Air, South Carolina-Based Charter Airline, Cancels Flights
Associated Press, March 13, 2012 Passengers were initially not given reasons for the abrupt cancellations. On March 13, 2012, a statement issued by Marketing Manager, Ed Warnek, indicated that flights would resume on Wednesday, March 14. Flight cancellations were attributed to a missed fuel payment. Further news releases on March 13 indicate that flights will not resume until May 15 at the earliest. On March 15, the

issued a statement indicating that "The company has announced that it intends to restart operations as of May 15, 2012; however, the company currently does not have authority to do so." On March 16, 2012, Direct Air issued a press release stating that it filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy protection. The public address on its home page was also modified to remove any indication that they would resume operation on May 15, 2012.

commenced on April 12, 2012. On August 21, 2012, it was announced that Direct Air had racked up $9.6 million in federal rules violations during the spring when Direct Air abruptly canceled about 350 flights according to its fillings in bankruptcy court. Between March 15 and March 24 Direct Air canceled 144 flights and another 206 flights between March 25 and April 11 that violated federal rules that are aimed at protecting passengers according to a filing made by the

, who regulates charter operators such as Direct Air and tallied the civil penalties Direct Air according to federal rules isn't allowed to cancel flights less than 10 days before the scheduled departure unless it is physically impossible to fly as is what Direct Air did through March 24, according to the DOT. Direct Air should have also notified passengers that were scheduled to fly on 206 flights March 25 through April 11, when Direct Air's initial

chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

case was converted to

Chapter 7 liquidation Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''reor ...

, that their flights had been canceled. Federal rules require that charter operators notify each passenger in writing within seven days after the cancellation but not less than 10 days before the scheduled flight. "No circumstances of physical impossibility existed during that 10-day period that would have prevented irect Airfrom performing the scheduled flights," the

DOT A dot is usually a small, round spot. Dot, DoT or DOT may also refer to: Orthography * Full stop or "period", a sentence terminator * Dot (diacritic), a mark above or below a character (e.g. ȧ, ạ, İ, Ċ, ċ, etc.), usually to indicate sou ...

said in its administrative claim to the fines accumulated prior to the case's conversion to Chapter 7. The civil penalty of $9,625,000 could be adjusted to a higher penalty after the DOT received flight information from Sky King, one of five carriers that flew flights for Direct Air, according to the court filing. The DOT is also looking into Direct Air's handling of a required escrow account that officials say is underfunded, which is also another violation of federal law. The maximum civil penalty is $27,500 per violation per day, but the total in Direct Air's case is still unknown, according to the DOT's court filings. On September 29, 2012, The Sun News wrote an article titled "Direct Air woes spread" and in the article that said that

which is a

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

based company who provided planes, pilots and crews to Direct Air, had filed

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

reorganization. The company's president blamed Direct Air for the

filing and in that filing says that Direct Air owed Sky King $1 million all this according to a report in the

Lakeland Ledger ''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area. History The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland S ...

. Sky King President Frank Visconti told the

that Direct Air owed then a significant amount of money when they the fuel company cut Sky King off. Sky King was one of eight carriers that flew Direct Air's routes for them. One of the other carriers who flew Direct Airs routes,

, was fined by the

United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

$180,000 in July because it abruptly cancelled flights without the proper notice to passengers as the USDOT requires. The USDOT had said that is continuing to investigate Direct Air as well as its carriers. The bankruptcy court is currently sorting through Direct Air's financial records. Investigators have already determined that there wasn't as much money in escrow accounts as there should have been or that was thought to be in the account, but they are still sorting through all the details. On October 2, 2012, it was announced Tuesday that a second carrier of the now defunct Direct Air was fined for abruptly canceling flights in March that left hundreds of vacationers and other travelers stranded.

was fined $300,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation because

cancelled flights less than 10 days before departure and for not ensuring a return flight for round-trip passengers as required by the DOT of such public charter flights. Xtra also violated rules that required them to be paid before operating public charted flights. Xtra stopped flying charters for Direct Air on March 13 when Direct Air failed to pay the carrier all the money it was owed for operating flights that departed on or after March 3, according to the

. Xtra also had received late payments from Direct Air for several flights prior to March 3, that should have prompted Xtra to look and see whether Direct Air was following the federal rules, said a DOT Aviation Enforcement Office. The DOT also requires carriers to make a reasonable effort to ensure that the charter operators they fly for are obeying the federal rules. Xtra is the second of Direct Air's eight carriers to be fined by the DOT, with the first one being

which was fined $180,000 in late July. Another one of Direct Air carriers Florida-based Sky King, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, with the company's president telling

the bankruptcy filling was led by Direct Air's demise, as

Sky King ''Sky King'' is an American radio and television series. Its lead character was Arizona rancher and aircraft pilot Schuyler "Sky" King. The series had strong Western elements. Cattle rancher King usually captured criminals and spies and found ...

was owed $1 million by the former carrier. The trustee that is in charge of the Direct Air case told WMBF News a local news station in Myrtle Beach said that there could even be criminal charges filed in relation to the investigation into Direct Air's bankruptcy On May 19, 2014, it was reported that the trustee in Direct Air's bankruptcy case has agreed to drop a racketeering lawsuit against Direct Air's former chief executive officer in exchange for a $10,000 payment or about 1.5 percent of the total amount that she owes, according to court documents. The trustee, Joseph Baldiga, says that he doubts that he will be able to collect the $657,252 that Judy Tull, Direct Air's former chief executive officer, owes to the bankruptcy estate, so instead of trying to collect the full amount the trustee as proposed the $10,000 settlement, which still needs to be approved by a bankruptcy judge, but no court date had been set. Baldiga is still suing the other Direct Air founders including Marshall and Kay Ellison, Robert Keilmann and Ed Warneck in order to recover nearly $2.6 million in payments that the founders received from the carrier before it abruptly stopped flying and filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2012. The trustee has also filed a racketeering complaint against Kay Ellison in which he claims that both Ellison and Tull fraudulently withdrew money from an escrow account that was supposed to help protect passengers’ fares in the event their flights did not occur. According to court documents the trustee said that the $10,000 payment from Tull is about the best the carrier's estate can expect.

Post-bankruptcy criminal proceedings

Two of the five original principal Direct Air partners—Kay Ellison and Judy Tull—were indicted in the United States Court for the District of New Jersey on January 17, 2016, on multiple counts of bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with Direct Air's demise. A third partner, Robert Keilman, had previously pleaded guilty in September 2015 to one federal count of conspiracy in exchange for cooperation with prosecutors. Keilman, aged 72 as of 2018, faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is scheduled for sentencing in July, 2018 (the two remaining partners, S. Marshall Ellison—spouse of Kay Ellison—and Edward Warneck were not charged with criminal offenses as of 2018). The government's case alleged that these three partners conspired to defraud Valley National Bank of New Jersey of ticketholder funds deposited into a Public Charter escrow account established for the purposes of consumer protection as mandated by United States Department of Transportation guidelines governing Public Charter air services, and as laid forth in the Public Charter Operator-Participant Contract. Upon examination it was alleged that this account which should have contained approximately US$30 million at the time of Direct Air's cessation of operations in March 2012 then contained only an approximate $1 million. Kay Ellison and Judy Tull maintained their innocence and mounted a defense. After lengthy procedural delays, their case went to trial before Judge Susan D. Wigendon of the United States Court of the District of New Jersey on March 22, 2018, in Newark. After a seven-day trial, a jury returned a verdict of guilty for Ellison and Tull for all indicted counts: each defendant was convicted of four substantive counts of bank fraud, three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy. Ellison, now 57 as of 2018 and Tull, now 72, each face up to 450 years in prison and US$15 million in fines when they are scheduled for sentencing in July 2018 along with Keilman. According to the US Department of Justice's official statement post-trial, defendants Ellison and Tull: "...stole passengers' money to try and prop up their failing company,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General (John P.) Cronan. “Their brazen scheme created a multimillion dollar shortfall that left passengers stranded at airports, and banks and credit card companies scrambling to pick up the pieces." and: "According to evidence presented at trial, from October 2007 through March 2012, Tull and Ellison engaged in a scheme to steal passengers’ money for future travel from an escrow account by artificially inflating the amount of money the defendants claimed they were entitled to receive, and by sending this falsified amount in a letter to the escrow bank telling the escrow bank to release the money. The evidence further established that to cover up their fraud, the defendants falsified profit and loss statements to make the company look like it was making money rather than losing money, and sent these falsified documents to credit card companies and banks to trick them into continuing to do business with the company." On November 28, 2018, Kay Ellison was sentenced in New Jersey to 94 months in prison and has been ordered her to pay $19.6 million in restitution. DirectAir CEO Judy Tull was later also sentenced to 94 months while chief financial officer Robert Keilman was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison.

Areas of operation

Direct Air opened a secondary hub in St. Petersburg, FL, but closed the station in 2008. In winter 2009 they started flying from Melbourne, FL to Niagara Falls and Punta Gorda. In the 2010-2011 winter season they began operating flights from

Palm Beach International Airport Palm Beach International Airport – also known as PBI Airport and historically as Morrison Field & Palm Beach Air Force Base – is a public airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States located just west of the city of West Palm Beach ...

to several of their northern origin airports, including Worcester, Kalamazoo, and Rockford. In 2011 they became the first airline to offer commercial air service from Florida's

Lakeland Linder International Airport Lakeland Linder International Airport is a public airport five miles southwest of Lakeland, in Polk County, Florida. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a na ...

since the 1970s.

Former destinations

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

* Lakeland (

)Chambliss, John
Direct Air Expects Lakeland Linder to Become a Hub of Tourism
, theledger.com, March 30, 2011 *

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

(

Orlando Sanford International Airport Orlando Sanford International Airport is a commercial, public use airport in Sanford, Florida, United States, near Orlando. It was built as Naval Air Station Sanford, a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft, ...

) * Fort Myers/Punta Gorda ( Charlotte County Airport) Focus City *

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

(

) Focus City

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

* Rockford (

Chicago Rockford International Airport Chicago Rockford International Airport — typically referred to as Rockford International Airport, Chicago Rockford, or by its IATA call letters, RFD — is a commercial airport in Rockford, Illinois, located northwest of Chicago., effective ...

) *

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

(

Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport – also known as Springfield Airport – is a civil-military airport in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States, located approximately three miles (6 km) northwest of downtown Springfield. It is owned b ...

)

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

(

Worcester Regional Airport Worcester Regional Airport is three miles (5 km) west of Worcester, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The main property lies within municipalities of Worcester and Leicester, with supporting facilities in Paxton. Once ...

)

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

(

Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport is a county-owned public airport in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County, Michigan, US, southeast of Downtown Kalamazoo. The airport is located approximately west of the city of Battle Creek. It is inclu ...

)

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

* Newark (

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...

) easonal

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

(

Niagara Falls International Airport Niagara Falls International Airport is located east of downtown Niagara Falls, in the Town of Niagara in Niagara County, New York, United States. Owned and operated by the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, the airport is a joint civ ...

) *

Plattsburgh Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding (and separately in ...

(

Plattsburgh International Airport Plattsburgh International Airport is a county public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) south of the central business district of the city of Plattsburgh, within the Town of Plattsburgh in Clinton County, New York, Unit ...

)

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

(

Rickenbacker International Airport Rickenbacker International Airport is a civil-military public airport south of downtown Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, near Lockbourne, Ohio, Lockbourne in southern Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The south end of the ...

) easonal*

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

(

Toledo Express Airport Toledo Express Airport, officially Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport , is a civil-military airport in Swanton and Monclova townships west of Toledo in western Lucas County, Ohio, United States. It opened in 1954–55 as a replacement t ...

)

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

(

Lehigh Valley International Airport Lehigh Valley International Airport , formerly Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton International Airport, is a domestic airport located in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Hanover Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley I ...

) *

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

(

Pittsburgh International Airport Pittsburgh International Airport —originally Greater Pittsburgh Airport and later Greater Pittsburgh International Airport—is a civil-military international airport in Findlay Township and Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Abou ...

)

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the " Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. It ...

(

) Hub

Former Destinations (prior to liquidation)

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...

(

Hagerstown Regional Airport Hagerstown Regional Airport (Richard A. Henson Field) is in Washington County, Maryland, Washington County, Maryland, five miles north of Hagerstown, Maryland and a half mile (800 m) from the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. The airport is off ...

) * St. Petersburg-Clearwater ( St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport) — Former focus city; closed in June 2008. *

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

(

Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport ( ) – commonly known by its former name of Dulles International Airport, by its airport code of IAD, or simply as Dulles Airport – is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located w ...

) — Sales suspended indefinitely due to low demand. Service was scheduled to begin on February 4, 2010.

Fleet

As Direct Air was a business classed as a

virtual airline (economics) In economics, a virtual airline is an airline that has outsourced as many possible operational and business functions as it can, but still maintains effective control of its core business. Such an airline focuses on operating a network of air serv ...

, it had no true aircraft fleet upon its own FAA /

operating certificate. Instead, the Direct Air business model used the services of the following airlines aircraft (as of March 14, 2010):

Incidents

On August 5, 2011, a Direct Air flight operated by

from

in Illinois lost an engine over the Gulf of Mexico and flew back to

Tampa International Airport Tampa International Airport is an international airport west of Downtown Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA)., effective May 15, 2025. The airp ...

. Passengers were told another plane was on its way, but one never arrived. Passengers were bussed back to Lakeland.Chambliss, John
Direct Air Jet Makes Emergency Landing in Tampa
, ''The Lakeland Ledger'', August 5, 2011, Retrieved 2015-03-18 October 15, 2011: Direct Air flight from

operated by

lost cabin pressure approximately one hour into the flight. Oxygen masks on board failed to deploy, and several passengers passed out, complained of chest pains, shortness of breath, or other issues related to the loss of pressure. The flight returned to Lakeland. After landing in Lakeland, mechanics attempted to fix the plane, and it took off again approximately 5 hours later. The second flight experienced the same air pressurization issues 20 minutes into the flight, again causing passengers to pass out as oxygen masks again failed to deploy. The flight returned, again, to Lakeland. There were no deaths, but at least one person was hospitalized with shortness of breath. Eventually, another plane was chartered to make the flight to Niagara Falls.

References

External links

Direct Air Official Website
(Ceased operation after declaring bankruptcy) {{Airlines of the United States, state=collapsed Defunct charter airlines of the United States Airlines established in 2006 Airlines disestablished in 2012 Defunct companies based in South Carolina Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012 Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2012 Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy 2006 establishments in South Carolina 2012 disestablishments in South Carolina Airlines based in South Carolina American companies established in 2006 American companies disestablished in 2012