Spanish air charter and leasing company Futura on Monday sought bankruptcy protection from a commercial court, joining a series of carriers forced out of business by soaring fuel costs.
The airline’s statement that it is unable to honor its payments will be examined by a court in Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, where the company is based, a legal source said.
Futura suspended operations Monday in order to inform its employees of the court procedure, the Spanish infrastructure ministry said in a statement.
It said the head of the civil aviation authority had asked the company to provide — by Friday — a report on its situation, a reorganisation plan as well as steps to guarantee its operations.
The authority will then decide whether or not to suspend Futura’s operating license, the ministry added.
“The problems faced by the sector, especially the excessive and speculative increase in oil prices over the last few months, have placed Futura in a very difficult financial situation,” Futura said in a statement.
Futura’s human resources director, Pere Torrems, told AFP the company was “studying the possibility of reducing” its 1,211-strong workforce by half.
Most of Futura’s charter operations are concentrated on routes to Britain and Ireland, Torrens said. The airline carried 3.7 million people last year.
Futura is 53-percent held by staff and management and roughly 46 percent by the British investment fund Hutton Collins.
