The UK's newest airline, Global Airlines, plans to launch a new flight route to the Maldives before the end of 2026, Metro can exclusively reveal. James Asquith, CEO of Global Airlines, said he had 'a lot of different routes in mind' for his start-up carrier, before adding: 'It's the Maldives.' He continued: 'Ask anyone in the UK, do you want to go to the Maldives? I think everyone would say: I'd love to, it's my dream holiday, or I want to go there on honeymoon. And it's so underserved from the UK.'
Background on Global Airlines
The fledgling carrier, founded by the 36-year-old British entrepreneur, has caused something of a stir in the aviation world since launching in 2022. At the time, Global pledged to take passengers back to the 'Golden Age' of travel, delivering a premium service on the world's largest passenger plane, the double-decker A380. In May 2025, the 9H-GLOBL took off for two return flights from Glasgow Airport to New York's JFK.
Current Status and Challenges
But since then, that plane has been parked at a storage facility in Tarbes Airport, France. However, speaking exclusively to Metro, James blames the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul backlog — felt across the industry — for the delay. 'The aircraft requires a 12 year maintenance check. It doesn't matter how much money you have, it doesn't matter how much you plead and beg, there is a queue for that.' When asked when Global will fly again, he said: 'Certainly this year. This year is the aim… let's say before Christmas.' He added there are UK cities 'that have and are definitely wanting more long-haul capacity that come out of them,' specifically Manchester and Birmingham.
The airline won't be looking to capitalise on the spike in interest on short-haul destinations though — a trend felt as a result of the conflict in Iran. Rather, 'the US and transatlantic will remain a priority'. 'We've explored a lot of new routes,' says James. 'We're quite inundated with lots of airports around the world who want the A380… we have a whole list of airports asking, offering incentives for us to fly there. Quite a few in the US, West Coast, a few in South America… and then a couple in the Far East as well.'
Ultra-Long Haul Ambitions
In fact, he could be looking even further afield: 'There's particular ultra-long haul routes that could be done. Honolulu… with the fuel burn and a flight that length, you're looking at 15 hours, maybe 16 outbound. It's not the most efficient use of the aircraft… but that doesn't mean that we might not give it a crack or two.' James did point out though that plans are subject to change: 'Norse Atlantic have almost every six months completely altered and changed their route network. I would love to sit here and say, we're going to only focus on one, two, three cities. But I also don't want not be adaptable.'
Fleet Expansion and AOC Hurdle
A crucial step in his ambitions will be buying another plane. 'We're bringing on at least one new aircraft. We're in the process of doing so at the moment,' he says. 'We need more aircraft to pick up more regular flights.' Global clearly has lots of plans, but those in the know will be aware that there is still one big hurdle: the AOC. The Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) is a license issued by the Civil Aviation Authority, which permits a commercial airline to operate. The process is lengthy, and can often take more than a year. Global is yet to secure this. In order for their JFK flights to take off, the planes operated under the AOC of Hi Fly Malta. They provided the crew, maintenance, and insurance to Global, under a 'wet-lease' arrangement.
'Easyjet, when they started, didn't have their own AOC… but back then, you didn't have 300 aviation bloggers talking about what they're doing,' says James. When asked if Global could give an update on the progress of their AOC James said: 'Maybe we can soon. There's been a lot going on behind the scenes. To be clear, there's many different ways to progress that. We might be a UK company, and we also fly out of Europe so that's lot of different ways that we can push that.'
The Vision and Reality
The background James announced plans for Global in 2022 — a dream he'd had since he was a child, growing up with pilot parents. Eager to 'bring back the golden age of air travel, with a modern flair,' that would mean 12ft long 'suites' for first class passengers. There would also be 'Gamer class', complete with Xbox and Playstations. However, that plan has since been dropped. Plans said flights would launch from London Gatwick in 2023, and by 2025, a fleet of 100 planes would fly from European hubs too. However, as with most start-ups, not everything went according to plan. After the two transatlantic trips in May, no more flights have ever been put on sale.
James acknowledges there are 'a lot of questions'. 'At the initial launch, people said: That's crazy and nuts and flying A380s, you'll never do it with passengers. And then we did that, and the narrative changed very quickly to: You need to fly more and you're not flying enough. You just try to keep your head down, do your job every day and having people sit there as armchair experts is sometimes quite difficult.' He makes no secret that achieving his childhood dream hasn't been easy: 'I sleep like a baby, which means I wake up with anxiety and fear, crying every couple of hours. It's pretty demoralising when people throw crap at you… so it's anything but a dream.'
Leadership Changes
Leadership at Global Airlines Companies House filings show that Thomas Stokely, brother of OnlyFans founder, Tim, resigned as director of Global Airlines in April 2026. Prashant Uttamchandani followed suit less than one month later. James was joined in May by entrepreneurs Dylan Salamon and Mike Belitz. James said: 'It's the right time for us to now bring in new board members, they're existing shareholders that have been with the company. Our board members that have just changed… remain large shareholders in the company, so there's really no change there. It's more just a case of people that can get stuck in more on a daily basis of what we're doing as things start to get more busy. For a start-up airline to have a consistent board for several years, to get to where we've got, and now the next step meaning we need people a bit more involved, is actually probably a good thing.'
The shake-up comes after Global faced a winding-up petition in March 2026 — its second in five months — a process whereby a creditor pushes a company into compulsory liquidation, because they can't pay their debts. Both petitions were withdrawn. In March 2026, James's company, Holiday Swap, billed as an AirBnB rival, and how the businessman is said to have made his fortune, was dissolved, according to listings on Companies House.
Expert Opinion
'I'm surprised we're still talking about Global,' Marina Efthymiou, Aviation expert and professor of aviation management at Dublin City University, tells Metro. 'I thought they'd be dissolved as soon as their A380 was parked.' From the beginning, it's Global's use of big, old, expensive A380s as a business model, that aviation insiders questioned. These double-decker planes are no longer being made, with less than 200 in circulation. Today, Emirates remains their largest carrier.
'The A380 is a massive plane, with four engines, and space for lots of different classes,' Marina explains. 'Starting an airline is already incredibly expensive: you need to buy the planes, find the staff, and get your AOC, which can cost hundreds of thousands. The A380s can carry from around 500 to more than 800 people, depending on the configuration of seats. This is a huge amount of passengers, which even big airlines have problems filling. The average on a transatlantic flight route is about 250. Global could be flying with half-empty planes and there are already very thin profit margins when it comes to plane tickets.'
It begs the question, why James thinks he can build a business on these planes — but he insists it's what passengers want. 'Anyone that's going to get on an Emirates plane, they don't want to get on the 777. They want to get on the A380 for the amenities, the facility, the size, the space,' says James. 'With an A380, it's just undeniable that you can offer a better product than on any other aircraft. We have the SkyPub, we have the social area on board, which for me is something that I'll always go out my way for. People say it's a big plane, it's a lot of risk, it's hard to fill. But when you do fill that thing, it's, you know, it's a great aircraft when you fit it. And it means you can offer better fares.'
But Marina says 'A380s aren't that prestigious anymore.' She continues: 'They might be a novelty, and people might be curious, but in the aviation world, they're not that impressive. It could be a case of boys with big toys. Maybe he just wanted to own an airline in the same way some men want a football club.' Marina has a stark conclusion. 'How long Global can survive, will depend on how rich James Asquith is, and how long he is able to afford operating at a loss.'
