20,000 people stranded as Spainair collapses

The Barcelona-based airline collapsed on Friday leaving more than 20,000 people stranded.


The airline, which is Spain's fourth-largest, could be fined 9m euros as the government seeks legal action. The collapse comes after talks of possible takeover of the firm by Qatar Airways stopped, ending any prospects of financing in the future.

"The airline was seen as a flagship of the regional government of Catalonia, which had helped it stay afloat with more than 150m euros of subsidies.

The government refused to provide more funding on Friday.

Low-cost airlines like Ryanair and Easyjet had challenged the legality of the subsidies to the European Commission.

On Monday, Ryanair said it was examining opportunities in Spain following the collapse of Spanair. "We certainly see it as an opportunity to expand our base," it said.

Spanair's collapse could lead to the loss of 4,000 jobs.

The airline was once owned by Scandinavia's SAS Airlines, which still has an 11% stake in the firm.

SAS said that the bankruptcy of Spanair would lead to write-downs of 1.7bn kronor (£160m) for the full year 2011." (BBC News)