Mint Airways was an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

based in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

History

Mint Airways was founded on 3 June 2009 by Inter-Flights —part of the International Flights Network SA, a Spanish company with its headquarters in Madrid. It began operating

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

services from Madrid-Barajas airport using a

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its mai ...

aircraft.''Presentada Mint Airways'' - AVIÓN REVUE; 3 June 2009
/ref> The airline soon added another 757 to its fleet and, towards the end of 2010, a

McDonnell Douglas MD-83 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

from

Swiftair Swiftair S.A. is an airline headquartered in Madrid, Spain. It operates scheduled and charter, passenger and cargo flights in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Its main base is Madrid–Barajas Airport. History The airline was founded ...

was also made part of the airline, although only for a brief period. During the first eighteen months of operation Mint Airways got wet lease contracts for

Thomas Cook Airlines Thomas Cook Airlines Limited was a British charter and scheduled airline headquartered in Manchester, England. It was founded in 2007 from the merger of Thomas Cook Group and MyTravel Group, and was part of the Thomas Cook Group Airlines. It ...

Atlas Blue Atlas Blue was a low-cost airline with its head office on the grounds of Marrakech-Menara Airport in Marrakech, Morocco, operating out of Menara International Airport. Atlas Blue was a subsidiary of Royal Air Maroc (RAM), operating chartered and ...

Royal Air Maroc Royal Air Maroc (; ar, الخطوط الملكية المغربية, , literally ''Royal Moroccan Lines'' or ''Royal Moroccan Airlines''; ber, ⴰⵎⵓⵏⵉ ⴰⵢⵍⴰⵍ ⴰⴳⵍⴷⴰⵏ ⵏ ⴰⵎⵓⵔⴰⴽⵓⵛ, ''Amuni Aylal Age ...

, Air Mediterranee, Axis Airways, Nouvelair,

Tunisair Société Tunisienne de l'Air, or Tunisair ( ar, الخطوط التونسية) is the national airline of Tunisia. Formed in 1948, it operates scheduled international services to four continents. Its main base is Tunis–Carthage International ...

Blue Panorama Blue Panorama Airlines S.p.A. was an Italian airline headquartered in Fiumicino operating scheduled and charter flights mostly to domestic and international leisure destinations. As of late 2021, the airline was in the process to change its bran ...

Air Italy Air Italy may refer to: *Air Italy (2005–2018) *Air Italy (2018–2020) Air Italy (registered as AIR ITALY S.p.A.) was a privately owned Italian airline, headquartered in Olbia, Sardinia. In 2019, the company was the second largest airline i ...

and

Spanair Spanair S.A. was a Spanish airline, with its head office in the Spanair Building in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona. Until 2009, it was a subsidiary of the SAS Group; the same parent company in control of Scandinavian Airlines and held ...

. Together with

Pullmantur Air Wamos Air, formerly Pullmantur Air, is a Spanish airline headquartered in Madrid. It mostly operates leisure charter flights, several of them on behalf of sister company Pullmantur Cruises from its main base at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Air ...

and

Iberworld Orbest Orizonia Airlines, S.A., formerly ''Iberworld Airlines, S.A.'', was an airline with its head office in the ''Edificio Orizionia Corporación'' in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. It operated regular and charter flights to destinations in Europ ...

it also found a niche in the lucrative transport of pilgrims to

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

from

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. Mint Airways began facing financial difficulties after Comtel Air —an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n airline with which it had a leasing contract— filed for bankruptcy in late 2011. Following a scandal in which Comtel Air flight crew asked stranded passengers to pay for the aircraft fuel, Mint Airways initiated legal action against Comtel. Mint Airways became insolvent on 22 May 2012 —less than three years after having started— following which it ceased all operations.Adiós a Mint Airways
/ref>

Code data

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

Code: MIC (not current)

Fleet

-200Planespotters - Mint Airways
/ref>

References

External links

Airline history; SpainCierra Mint AirwaysEl Mundo - ''Aviación mundial en turbulencia,'' 23 de Julio de 2012
{{airlines of Spain Defunct airlines of Spain Airlines established in 2009 Airlines disestablished in 2012