The first Gulf War triggered by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2 , 1990 , caused fuel prices to rise , which severely depressed global economic activity . This in turn caused a sharp contraction of worldwide air travel demand , plunging once profitable operations , including Pan Am 's prime transatlantic routes , into steep losses . These unforeseen events constituted a further major blow to Pan Am , which was still reeling from the 1988 Lockerbie disaster . To shore up its finances , Pan Am sold most of its routes serving London Heathrow – arguably Pan Am 's most important international destination – to United Airlines . This left Pan Am with only two daily London flights , serving Detroit and Miami , which used Gatwick as their London terminal from the start of the 1990/91 winter timetable . Further asset disposals included Pan Am 's sale of its IGS routes to Berlin to Lufthansa for $ 150 million , which became effective at the same time and brought the total value of asset disposals to $ 1.2 billion . These measures were accompanied by the elimination of 2,500 jobs ( 8.6 % of its work force ) . These cutbacks were announced by the airline in September 1990
Lockerbie disaster
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan American World Airways