Independence Air was a low-cost airline, owned by FLYi, Inc., headquartered in the Loudoun Gateway Corporate Center in Dulles, unincorporated Loudoun County, Virginia, United States (near Washington, D.C.) that operated from 1989 until 2006. Its route network focused on the East Coast of the United States, but it also extended to the West Coast. The route network was based at Washington Dulles International Airport.

It ceased all operations at 8:24 p.m. UTC-5 on January 5, 2006. The airline had been in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy since November 7, 2005, and there had been discussion of a last-minute deal that could save the airline, but that did not happen.

Independence Air started life as Atlantic Coast Airlines on December 15, 1989, operating feeder services as United Express for United Airlines and Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines. After United withdrew the contract when the ACA labor and management would not agree to the concessions it requested, Atlantic Coast reinvented itself as low-cost carrier Independence Air. It was announced on November 19, 2003, and operations as Independence Air began on June 16, 2004. At its inception, it was unique among low-cost carriers in that its fleet mainly consisted of 50-seat regional jets, although the airline later introduced larger Airbus A319 equipment. It was based at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) and contributed to Dulles's substantial increase in passenger use, bringing one million new customers to the airport in its first three months of operation. The airline was also credited with helping to reduce fares to and from the airport.

Manic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band formed in 1986 consisting of James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar), Nicky Wire (bass, lyrics), and Sean Moore (drums, percussion). The band is part of the Cardiff music scene and were at their most prominent during the 1990s. They are colloquially known as "The Manics" or simply "Manics". Manic Street Preachers were originally a quartet but primary lyricist and rhythm guitarist Richey Edwards vanished on 1 February 1995.

In 1992, the Manics released their debut album, Generation Terrorists. Their combination of androgynous glam punk imagery and critical social lyrics about "culture, alienation, boredom, and despair" soon gained them a loyal following and cult status. The band's later albums retained a leftist politicisation and intellectual lyrical style while adopting a broader alternative rock sound.

Following Edwards' disappearance, Bradfield, Moore, and Wire persisted with Manic Street Preachers and went on to gain critical and commercial success, becoming one of Britain's premier rock bands. Altogether, they have garnered eight Top 10 albums, fifteen Top 10 singles, and have reached number one three times with their 1998 This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours album, the 1998 "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" single, and the 2000 "The Masses Against the Classes" single.