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The airline cancelled all flights from last Saturday after the Catalan government refused further cash injection
02.02.12 - 21:45 -
Spanair workers protested in Barcelona on Wednesday. Reuters
Passengers with tickets to fly with Spanair have found themselves stranded this week after the airline announced that it would be operating no more flights and that the firm would be filing for bankruptcy. Spanair justified its actions claiming that the airline was no longer “financially viable” and apologised to “all those who might be affected”.
In 2009 when SAS sold Spanair the Catalan regional government formed a public and private group that invested heavily to refloat the airline (weakened by the Barajas accident that killed 154 in 2008) and at the same time strengthen Barcelona’s El Prat airport. While Spanair denied being a subsidised airline, 50 per cent of its social capital is in public hands.
Cuts
Now the regional authority, currently inflicting crisis cuts on basic services, no longer has an excuse for injecting funds into an unprofitable project. Spanair sought help from other companies and was in talks with Qatar Airways for months, however in the end the potential saviour from the Middle East pulled out.
Since Saturday thousands of passengers planning to fly with Spanair have had to cancel plans or buy new tickets with other airlines, such as Vueling, Iberia or Air Europa, albeit at special reduced rates. The firm was negotiating ways to compensate the affected passengers and the free telephone number 900131415 was set up to deal with claims.
Meanwhile the airline is preparing a redundancy package for its more than 2,600 employees.
In Malaga on_Saturday some 345 passengers found themselves stranded, only being told that the firm had ceased operations when they arrived at the boarding gate.
Around 30 Spanair employees are based in Malaga, the majority cabin staff. However, the closure will also indirectly affect another 30 employees of the firm Newco that carried out ground services for Spanair at Malaga airport.
