Passengers stranded as Air Australia goes bust


Air Australia placed into administration

Hundreds of passengers have been left stranded in Thailand after Air Australia, previously called Strategic Airlines, went into voluntary administration.

- Thousands left without flights
- 300 Air Australia staff stood down
- Company unable to pay for fuel
- Questions about when the company went broke
- No flights in the 'short to medium term'

Thousands of Australian travellers have been left without a flight in or out of the country as troubled budget airline Air Australia dived into administration today.

Most of the airline’s 300 staff have been stood down as about 4000 passengers are left to search for alternative flights on their own as administrators probe the possibility that the company was trading while insolvent.
At least two international flights bound for Melbourne - from Phuket and Honolulu - were grounded after they were refused fuel.
Five domestic flights between Brisbane to Melbourne today have also been cancelled.

Administrators KordaMentha directed stranded passengers to contact other airlines immediately to try to reschedule their flights.

‘‘It currently appears that there are no funds available to meet operational expenses so flights will be suspended immediately,’’ KordaMentha said in a statement on the airline’s website.

‘‘For clarity, it also appears highly unlikely there will be any flights in the short to medium term.’’

KordaMentha founder Mark Korda said there were about 4000 passengers whose flights would be grounded today as a result of the airline’s collapse.

He said most of the airline’s 300 staff had been stood down, effective immediately.

Mr Korda said flights were suspended at 1.30am after the company was unable to pay for a fuel for a Melbourne-bound flight departing from Phuket.

-- theage.com.au 2012-02-17 

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