Flag carrier facts for kids

A Boeing 777-300ER of Garuda Indonesia, the main airline of Indonesia.

A flag carrier is a special transport company, like an airline or a shipping company. It's registered in a specific country and gets special rights or benefits from that government for flying or sailing internationally.

In the past, this term usually meant airlines owned by the government of their home country. These airlines were often a big part of that country's national identity. They might also be called a national airline or national carrier. Today, a flag carrier is any international airline that has a strong connection to its home country or represents it around the world, even if the government doesn't own it anymore.

Sometimes, airlines are called flag carriers because laws require their planes or ships to display their country's flag. For example, in the United States, a "U.S. flag air carrier" is any U.S.-based airline that flies internationally.

What is a Flag Carrier?

A Douglas DC-4 plane owned by El Al, the flag carrier of Israel, in 1948.

The idea of a "flag carrier" comes from the early days of flying. Back then, governments often started their own airlines. This was because it cost a lot of money to set up and run an airline.

However, not all flag carriers were government-owned. Airlines like Pan Am and Cathay Pacific were private companies. But they were still seen as flag carriers because they were the main airlines for their countries. They often showed their country's presence in other parts of the world.

The airline industry used to be very controlled by governments. Countries would make special deals about flying rights, called Bilateral Air Transport Agreements. These deals meant that only airlines registered in that country could use certain routes. This sometimes made governments create their own airlines so they wouldn't be left out. Some countries, like Israel with El Al, also started flag carriers for national pride or to help their country's economy, especially with tourism.

Governments often helped their flag carriers grow. They would give them money or other benefits. Sometimes, they even stopped other local airlines from starting up to avoid competition. Even if private airlines were allowed, the flag carrier usually got special treatment, especially when it came to getting flight routes.

Towards the end of the 1900s, many of these airlines changed. Some became public companies or government-owned businesses. Others were completely sold to private owners. The airline industry also became less regulated, allowing more freedom for airlines to fly where they wanted. This happened a lot in the United States and European Union with agreements like Open Skies. These agreements allow a country to have many airlines fly international routes, meaning there isn't just one "flag carrier" anymore.

List of Flag-Carrying Airlines

The table below shows airlines that are considered "flag carriers." This is based on whether they are currently or were previously owned by their government, or if they are officially named as a national airline.

Country or Region	Airline	Details of current state ownership	Details of former state ownership
Afghanistan	Ariana Afghan Airlines	State-owned
Albania	Air Albania	Minority state-owned by Albcontrol (10%)
Algeria	Air Algérie	State-owned
Angola	TAAG Angola Airlines	Majority
Argentina	Aerolíneas Argentinas	State-owned
Aruba	Aruba Airlines	None
Australia	Qantas	None	State-owned until 1992.
Austria	Austrian Airlines	None – owned by Lufthansa	State-owned until 5 December 2008.
Azerbaijan	Azerbaijan Airlines	State-owned
Bahamas	Bahamasair	State-owned
Bahrain	Gulf Air	State-owned
Bangladesh	Biman Bangladesh Airlines	Public limited company	State-owned until 23 July 2007.
Belarus	Belavia	State-owned
Belgium	Brussels Airlines	None – owned by Lufthansa	State-owned in its original incarnation (SN Brussels Airlines).
Bhutan	Druk Air	None
Bolivia	Boliviana de Aviación	State-owned
Botswana	Air Botswana	State-owned
Brunei	Royal Brunei Airlines	State-owned
Bulgaria	Bulgaria Air	Minority state-owned (0.01%)
Burkina Faso	Air Burkina	State-owned
Cambodia	Air Cambodia	Majority
Cameroon	Camair-Co	State-owned
Canada	Air Canada	None	State-owned until privatization in 1989. Minority (Estimated 6.4%) between April 2021 and December 2024.
Cape Verde	Cabo Verde Airlines	Majority (90%)
Cayman Islands	Cayman Airways	State-owned
Chile	LATAM Chile	None	State-owned until September 1989.
China	Air China	Majority (51.7%): 40.98% through CNAHC and 10.72% through CNACG	State-owned until 2004.
Colombia	Avianca	None
Costa Rica	Avianca Costa Rica
Croatia	Croatia Airlines	Majority (98%)
Cuba	Cubana de Aviación	State-owned
Cyprus	Cyprus Airways	None – 40% owned by Malta-based SJC Group
DR Congo	Congo Airways	State-owned
Denmark	Scandinavian Airlines	Minority (~26%) state-owned by Ministry of Finance of Denmark	SAS was partly owned by the governments of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. SAS is the flag carrier for all three nations.
Norway
Sweden
Djibouti	Air Djibouti	Joint venture
Dominican Republic	Arajet	None
Egypt	Egyptair	State-owned
Equatorial Guinea	CEIBA Intercontinental	State-owned
Eritrea	Eritrean Airlines	State-owned
Swaziland	Eswatini Air
Ethiopia	Ethiopian Airlines	State-owned
	Atlantic Airways
Fiji	Fiji Airways	Majority (51%)
Finland	Finnair	Majority (55.8%)
France	Air France	Minority state-ownership of Air France–KLM
French Polynesia	Air Tahiti Nui	Majority
Georgia	Georgian Airways	None
Germany	Lufthansa	None	State-owned until 1994; remaining government shares were sold in 1997. Minority (20.05%) in the Lufthansa Group acquired in 2020 was sold in 2022.
Greece	Aegean Airlines		Previously the Greek Government had minority shares of the airline due to a COVID bailout. The airline bought back government shares in 2023
Greenland	Air Greenland	State-owned	Previously owned by Scandinavian Airlines and Ministry of Finance of Denmark.
Guernsey	Aurigny	State-owned
Hong Kong	Cathay Pacific	Minority (~29.98% through Air China)	Hong Kong Government owned 6.8% of shares from 2020 to 2024.
Iceland	Icelandair	None – owned by Icelandair Group
India	Air India	None – owned by Tata Group (74.9%) and Singapore Airlines (25.1%)	State-owned until November 2021.
Indonesia	Garuda Indonesia	Majority (60.54%)
Iran	Iran Air	State-owned
Iraq	Iraqi Airways
Ireland	Aer Lingus	None – owned by International Airlines Group	State-owned until September 2006.
Israel	El Al	Minority (~1.1%)	State-owned until June 2004.
Italy	ITA Airways	State-owned, succeeded Alitalia starting from 15 October 2021
Côte d'Ivoire	Air Côte d'Ivoire	Minority (49%)
Jamaica	Caribbean Airlines	Minority (16%)
Trinidad and Tobago		Majority (84%)
Japan	Japan Airlines	None	State-owned until 1987.
	All Nippon Airways	None
Jordan	Royal Jordanian
Kazakhstan	Air Astana	Majority (51%)
Kenya	Kenya Airways	Minority (29.8%)
Kiribati	Air Kiribati
Kuwait	Kuwait Airways	State-owned
Laos	Lao Airlines	State-owned
Latvia	airBaltic	Majority (80.05%)
Lebanon	Middle East Airlines	Majority (99%)
Libya	Afriqiyah Airways	State-owned
	Libyan Airlines	State-owned
Luxembourg	Luxair	Majority (73.86%)
Macau	Air Macau	Minority (5%)
Madagascar	Madagascar Airlines	Majority
Malawi	Malawian Airlines	Majority (51%)
Malaysia	Malaysia Airlines	State-owned through Khazanah Nasional
Maldives	Maldivian
Malta	KM Malta Airlines	Majority
Marshall Islands	Air Marshall Islands
Mauritania	Mauritania Airlines	State-owned
Mauritius	Air Mauritius
Mexico	Aeroméxico	None	State-owned until 2007.
Mongolia	MIAT Mongolian Airlines	State-owned
Montenegro	Air Montenegro	State-owned
Morocco	Royal Air Maroc	State-owned
Mozambique	LAM Mozambique Airlines	State-owned
Myanmar	Myanmar National Airlines	State-owned
Nauru	Nauru Airlines	State-owned
Nepal	Nepal Airlines	State-owned
Netherlands	KLM	Minority state-ownership of Air France–KLM
New Caledonia	Aircalin	Majority (99%)
New Zealand	Air New Zealand	Majority (53%)	State-owned until 1989, partially re-nationalized in 2001.
North Korea	Air Koryo	State-owned
Oman	Oman Air	Majority
Pakistan	Pakistan International Airlines	State-owned
Panama	Copa Airlines	None
Papua New Guinea	Air Niugini
Paraguay	LATAM Paraguay
Peru	LATAM Perú
Philippines	Philippine Airlines
Poland	LOT Polish Airlines	State-owned
Portugal	TAP Air Portugal	Majority (72%)
Qatar	Qatar Airways	State-owned
Réunion	Air Austral
Romania	TAROM	Majority (97.22%)
Russia	Aeroflot	Majority (51%)
Rwanda	RwandAir	State-owned
Samoa	Samoa Airways	State-owned
São Tomé and Príncipe	STP Airways	None
Saudi Arabia	Saudia	Majority
Senegal	Air Senegal
Serbia	Air Serbia	Majority (51%)
Seychelles	Air Seychelles	State-owned (100%)
Solomon Islands	Solomon Airlines	State-owned
Sierra Leone	Air Sierra Leone
Singapore	Singapore Airlines	Majority (54.5% through Temasek Holdings)
South Africa	South African Airways	State-owned
South Korea	Korean Air	None – owned by Hanjin	State-owned until 1969.
Spain	Iberia	None – owned by International Airlines Group
Sri Lanka	SriLankan Airlines	State-owned
Sudan	Sudan Airways	State-owned
Suriname	Surinam Airways	State-owned
Switzerland	Swiss International Air Lines	None – owned by Lufthansa
Syria	Syrian Air	State-owned
Taiwan	China Airlines	Majority	State-owned until 1991. 51.28% held by non-profit Civic Aviation Development Foundation.
Timor-Leste	Aero Dili
Tanzania	Air Tanzania	State-owned
Thailand	Thai Airways International	Minority (47.86%)
Tunisia	Tunisair	Majority
Turkey	Turkish Airlines	Minority (49%)
Turkmenistan	Turkmenistan Airlines	State-owned
Uganda	Uganda Airlines
Ukraine	Ukraine International Airlines
United Arab Emirates	Etihad Airways	State-owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi
	Emirates	State-owned by the Government of Dubai through the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
United Kingdom	British Airways	None – owned by International Airlines Group	State-owned until 1987.
Uzbekistan	Uzbekistan Airways	Majority
Venezuela	Conviasa
Vietnam	Vietnam Airlines	Majority (86.2%)
Yemen	Yemenia	Majority
Zambia	Zambia Airways
Zimbabwe	Air Zimbabwe	State-owned

See also

In Spanish: Compañía de bandera para niños

• List of charter airlines
• List of low-cost airlines