To run away hastily

As soon as the alarm went off, the thieves took flight in a split second

Non appena è scattato l'allarme, i ladri se la sono filata all'istante

All the gang had taken a powder when the cops arrived

Quando la polizia arrivò, tutta la banda aveva già preso il volo

We are on the edge of bankruptcy since our partner flew the coop with all the money

Siamo sull'orlo della bancarotta poiché il nostro socio ha preso il volo con tutto il denaro della società

It seems to be an American expression from the early 1900s, although its exact origin is quite uncertain. One option is that it could refer to the verb powder (labeled as colloquial and dialectal), whose meaning is “to rush out impetuously”