Santa Barbara Airlines
Venezuela · SANTA BARBARA · Active
Airline Identity
History
Santa Bárbara Airlines was founded on 1 November 1995 in Venezuela and began commercial operations on 1 March 1997, growing into one of the country's main private carriers serving domestic routes plus destinations in the Caribbean and the United States from its base at Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas. The airline suffered its darkest moment on 21 February 2008, when Flight 518 crashed near Mérida, killing all 46 people on board; in the aftermath it rebranded from Santa Bárbara Airlines to SBA Airlines later that year. Venezuela's broader economic and currency crisis through the 2010s steadily eroded the carrier's ability to source parts, fuel, and hard currency, leading to widespread flight cancellations by 2018.
Current Operations
The airline no longer operates. In January 2018, Venezuela's National Institute of Civil Aviation suspended SBA Airlines for 90 days after it proved unable to fulfil its schedules, following cancellations that stranded passengers in Miami; by that point the Caracas–Miami route was essentially its only viable service. SBA Airlines formally ceased operations on 26 April 2018 after voluntarily returning its air operator's certificate to Venezuelan authorities, ending more than two decades of flying under both the Santa Bárbara and SBA names.
Last verified 2026-09-03· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.