* Small budget airline files for liquidation
* Hundreds left stranded on Friday
* Shares have fallen 87 pct this year
(Adds details)
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 2 (Reuters) – South African budget airline
1time Holdings said on Friday it had filed for
liquidation and cancelled its flights, after pulling the plug on
a rescue plan.
The airline, which operated flights within South Africa,
said in August it had launched a turnaround plan to right its
money-losing business.
“At the board meeting held today… it was recognised and
agreed that the business had no reasonable prospect of being
rescued,” the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.
Trading in its shares – which have lost 87 percent of their
value this year – would be halted, the company said.
Local media reported that hundreds of passengers were left
stranded after the airline cancelled all its flights at 3:00
p.m. (1300 GMT).
The money-losing airline had 16 million rand ($1.85
million)in long-term debt on its balance sheet as of the end of
December, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Its total liabilities at the time came to 536 million rand.
($1 = 8.6513 South African rand)
(Reporting by David Dolan; Editing by Jon Herskovitz)
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