Volato (NASDAQ: SOAR) files S-8 for 2025 stock incentive compensation plan

Rhea-AI Filing Summary

Volato Group, Inc. has filed a Form S-8 registration statement to register shares of its Class A common stock for issuance under the Volato Group, Inc. 2025 Stock Incentive Plan. This filing allows the company to use stock-based incentives granted under that plan, as described in the plan document incorporated by reference.

The company incorporates by reference its previously filed annual, quarterly and current reports, along with a prior registration statement describing its capital stock, so these filings together serve as the prospectus for plan participants. Volato also describes how Delaware law, its certificate of incorporation, bylaws, indemnification agreements and insurance protect its directors and officers against certain liabilities, subject to legal limits, and includes standard SEC undertakings related to future amendments and liability.

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 5, 2025

Registration No. 333-          

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

VOLATO GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		86-2707040
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1954 Airport Road

Suite 124

Chamblee, Georgia 30341

844-399-8998

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Volato Group, Inc. 2025 Stock Incentive Plan

(Full title of the plans)

Matthew Liotta

Chief Executive Officer

1954 Airport Road

Suite 124

Chamblee, Georgia 30341

844-399-8998

(Name, address, including zip code and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Kate L. Bechen

Dykema Gossett PLLC

111 E. Kilbourn Ave., Suite 1050

Milwaukee, WI 53202

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (check one):

Large accelerated filer ☐	Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☒	Smaller reporting company ☒
	Emerging Growth Company ☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The information specified in Item 1 and Item 2 of this Part I is omitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428 under the Securities Act and the introductory note to Part I of Form S-8. The document(s) containing the information specified in this Part I will be sent or given to participants in the Volato Group, Inc. 2025 Stock Incentive Plan in accordance with Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act. Such documents need not be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 promulgated under the Securities Act. These document(s) and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Form S-8, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents, previously filed by the Registrant with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), are hereby incorporated in this Registration Statement by reference as of their filing date with the SEC:

	●	Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2025, as amended by Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on April 30, 2025;
	●	Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on May 15, 2025 and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2025, filed with the SEC on August 14, 2025;
	●	Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 10, 2025, February 14, 2025, April 7, 2025, May 7, 2025, May 8, 2025, May 15, 2025, June 9, 2025, June 13, 2025, June 27, 2025, July 1, 2025, July 21, 2025, July 24, 2025, and July 29, 2025 (in each case, excluding information furnished pursuant to Items 2.02 and 7.01 of Form 8-K); and
	●	The description of the Company’s capital stock set forth in our Registration Statement on Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on May 9, 2025, in the section entitled “Description of Capital Stock.”

All reports and other documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment that indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Unless specifically stated to the contrary, none of the information that the Company discloses under Items 2.02 or 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K that the Company has or may from time to time furnish to the Commission will be incorporated by reference into, or otherwise be included in, this Registration Statement.

Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 5. Interest of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Officers and Directors.

Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) allows a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director or officer of the corporation will not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer, except where the director or officer breached the duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase or redemption in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper personal benefit, or where the action is by or in the right of the corporation. Our Certificate of Incorporation provides for this limitation of liability.

Section 145 of the DGCL, provides, among other things, that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was, is or is threatened to be made, party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of such corporation), by reason of the fact that such person is or was an officer, director, employee or agent of such corporation or is or was serving at the request of such corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was unlawful. A Delaware corporation may indemnify any persons who were or are a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise. The indemnity may include expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the corporation’s best interests, provided further that no indemnification is permitted in respect of any claim as to which the person has been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless the applicable court determines that the person is, nonetheless, fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which such court deems proper. Our Bylaws provide that we must indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers to the full extent authorized by the DGCL.

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We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and “named executive officers” (each, a “NEO”). Such agreements may require us, among other things, to advance expenses and otherwise indemnify our directors and the NEOs against certain liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service as directors or executive officers, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The indemnification rights set forth above shall not be exclusive of any other right which an indemnified person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, any provision of our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we shall not be obligated to indemnify or advance expenses to a director or officer in respect of a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such director or officer, unless such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board.

Section 145 of the DGCL also authorizes a corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or enterprise, against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the corporation would otherwise have the power to indemnify such person under Section 145. We currently maintain and expect to continue to maintain standard policies of insurance that provide coverage (1) to our directors and officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act and (2) to us with respect to indemnification payments that we may make to such directors and officers. Additionally, certain of our non-employee directors may, through their relationships with their respective employers, be insured or indemnified against certain liabilities incurred in their capacity as members of the Board.

Section 174 of the DGCL provides, among other things, that a director, who willfully or negligently approves of an unlawful payment of dividends or an unlawful stock purchase or redemption, may be held jointly and severally liable for such actions. A director who was either absent when the unlawful actions were approved or dissented at the time may avoid liability by causing his or her dissent to such actions to be entered in the books containing the minutes of the meetings of the Board at the time such action occurred or immediately after such director has notice of the unlawful acts.

These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions. Ultimately, we believe that these provisions, the insurance, and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

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Item 8. Exhibits.

Exhibit No.		Description of Exhibit
4.1		Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Volato Group, Inc., as amended through February 19, 2025 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on May 7, 2025).
4.2		Third Amended and Restated Bylaws of Volato Group, Inc., as amended through October 10, 2024 (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 31, 2025).
4.3		Form of Class A Common Stock Certificate of Volato Group, Inc (incorporated by reference herein from the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on December 7, 2023).
5.1		Opinion of Dykema Gossett, PLLC
10.1		Volato Group, Inc. 2025 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference from Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on July 24, 2025)
23.1		Consent of Dykema Gossett, PLLC (included in Exhibit 5.1)
23.2		Consent of Rose Snyder Jacobs, LLP.
24.1		Power of Attorney (included on the signature page of this Form S-8)
107		Filing Fee Table

Item 9. Undertakings.

1. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

(a) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement.

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;

Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(i) and (a)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement.

(b) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(d) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the Registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned Registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned Registrant pursuant to this Registration Statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned Registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned Registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned Registrant;

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(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned Registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant; and

(iv) Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

2. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

3. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Chamblee, State of Georgia, on September 5, 2025.

	VOLATO GROUP, INC.
	By:	/s/ Matthew Liotta
		Matthew Liotta
		Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer)

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below appoints Matthew Liotta and Mark Heinen, and each of them, any of whom may act without the joinder of the other, as his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and re-substitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement and any registration statement (including any amendment thereto) for this offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or would do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them of their or his substitute and substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature		Title		Date
/s/ Matthew Liotta		Chief Executive Officer and Director		September 5, 2025
Matthew Liotta		(Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ Mark Heinen		Chief Financial Officer		September 5, 2025
Mark Heinen		(Principal Financial Officer)
/s/ Leslie Miller		Chief Accounting Officer		September 5, 2025
Leslie Miller		(Principal Accounting Officer)
/s/ Christopher Burger		Director		September 5, 2025
Christopher Burger
/s/ Nicholas Cooper		Director		September 5, 2025
Nicholas Cooper
/s/ Michael Nichols		Director		September 5, 2025
Michael Nichols

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FAQ

What did Volato Group, Inc. (SOAR) file on Form S-8?

Volato Group, Inc. filed a Form S-8 registration statement to register shares of its Class A common stock for issuance under the Volato Group, Inc. 2025 Stock Incentive Plan. This allows the company to issue stock-based incentives pursuant to that plan.

What is the Volato Group, Inc. 2025 Stock Incentive Plan mentioned in the S-8?

The S-8 identifies the Volato Group, Inc. 2025 Stock Incentive Plan as the plan covered by the registration. The plan document itself is incorporated by reference as an exhibit and governs how stock incentives may be granted and issued.

Which prior SEC filings does Volato Group, Inc. (SOAR) incorporate into this S-8?

Volato incorporates its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 (as amended), its Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2025 and June 30, 2025, multiple Forms 8-K, and a prior Form S-1/A describing its capital stock. These documents become part of the S-8 by reference.

How are Volato Group, Inc.’s directors and officers protected under this filing?

The filing explains that Volato’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws, consistent with Delaware General Corporation Law, limit certain monetary liability of directors and officers and provide for indemnification and advancement of expenses. The company also maintains insurance policies that cover specified claims against directors and officers, subject to legal restrictions.

Does the Volato S-8 filing change existing shareholder rights in SOAR stock?

The S-8 does not change the basic description of Volato’s capital stock; instead it incorporates by reference the description from an earlier Form S-1/A. The new registration focuses on making shares available for issuance under the 2025 Stock Incentive Plan.

What ongoing reporting will be tied into this Volato Form S-8?

The company states that future reports filed under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act will automatically be incorporated by reference into this registration statement until all registered securities are sold or deregistered.

What standard SEC undertakings does Volato include in this S-8?

Volato undertakes to file post-effective amendments when required, to treat each such amendment and each incorporated annual report as a new registration statement for liability purposes, and to submit indemnification questions to a court if they conflict with public policy under the Securities Act.