Britons 'grounded' as Swissair stops all flights

Hundreds of British airline passengers were thought to be stranded abroad today after troubled Swissair said it was suspending all flights.

At least nine UK–bound services and others to destinations around the globe were cancelled by the carrier as it battled to stave off bankruptcy.

Two Swissair planes were earlier impounded by Heathrow authorities in a row over unpaid landing fees, although one was later released.

The company filed for protection from creditors yesterday. It is now relying on banks to provide extra cash to secure its future.

Swissair spokeswoman Ester Mann said: "All flights are suspended and we are waiting for funds from major banks, a decision on which will be taken shortly.

"For the moment services out of Zurich and Geneva are suspended, while aircraft that are currently airborne en route will continue to their destinations."

Ms Mann said it was likely there could be hundreds of British passengers among the thousands marooned in Switzerland and elsewhere.

The cancelled flights today included five flights from Zurich to London, three from Geneva to London and one from Zurich to Manchester.

Swissair also faced problems with fuel supplies, with BP providing pre–paid fuel only and Shell cutting supplies altogether over unpaid bills.

Heathrow officials this morning seized two Airbuses, an A321 and an A330, after concern over unpaid landing fees totalling a reported £300,000.

A spokesman for the airport said passengers on the planes were allowed to disembark and did not suffer any inconvenience.

The spokesman later confirmed that one of the planes remained on the tarmac at Heathrow while discussions with Swissair continued.

Swissair is the biggest casualty so far of the air travel slump caused by the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

It claims the crisis is likely to cost it 3.1 billion to 3.8 billion Swiss francs (£1.3 billion to £1.7 billion) by the end of this year.

The company said on Monday it was seeking protection from creditors for a massive overhaul that will put regional subsidiary Crossair in charge.

Under Swiss law, the move allows the company breathing space to reorganise without being carved up by a bankruptcy court.

It has announced cost–cutting steps including a failure to make a 200 million Swiss franc (£83 million) payment to Belgian airline Sabena, of which Swissair owns 49.5%.

Sabena said its services had not been affected despite Swissair's difficulties and it would handle the Brussels–Zurich route.

But the Belgian government, which owns the majority stake in Sabena, was outraged by Swissair's attempt to seek protection from creditors and said it would go to court to force the Swiss company to provide the promised cash.

Before the announcement, trading in shares of Swissair and Crossair had already been suspended in Zurich until further notice.

Under the changes, Switzerland's largest banks UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group will buy Swissair's 70% stake in Crossair at the current market price.

A failed expansion strategy in 2000 also lost the airline around 2.9 billion francs (£1.2 billion).