Alaska’s Biggest Regional Airline Fails, Doomed by Slow U.S. Aid

Ravn Air Group, whose airlines connect the far reaches of Alaska, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after it ran out of cash to pay staff and keep its planes flying.

Passenger revenues from the company’s three airlines fell as much as 90% after Alaska’s governor announced the first case of Covid-19 in the state last month, Chief Financial Officer John Mannion said in a court declaration. By the end of March, Ravn didn’t have enough cash to make payroll, and on April 5 the state’s biggest regional carrier laid off most of its employees.

Ravn, owned by J.F. Lehman ...