Malev airline stops services after 66 years as Hungary moves to cut losses.

RTE News - Hungary's national carrier Malev has grounded all flights and ceased operations due to an "unsustainable" financial situation. The airline has debts of around 60 billion forints (€204m).
It has emerged that a Malev plane at Dublin Airport is one of only two of the carrier's planes that are grounded abroad. Prime Minister Viktor Orban confirmed on state radio that two Malev planes - one in Tel Aviv, the other in Ireland - were not allowed to take off because of the airline's accumulated debts.
Malev was founded in 1946 and has 2,600 employees. After several failed privatisation efforts over the past 20 years, the state now owns 95% of the company. A deal to sell a stake in Malev to China's Hainan Airlines fell through last year.
Last month, the European Commission ordered Hungary's flag carrier to repay various forms of state aid received between 2007 and 2010. That aid amounted to 38 billion forints (€130m), a sum equal to its entire 2010 revenue.
The EU decision prevented Malev's owner, the Hungarian state, from providing liquidity to the stricken airline. Hungary had moved on Thursday however to prevent a forced grounding of Malev, appointing an administrator to shield it from creditor claims. It also declared Malev a "strategically important company," a status that prevented the launch of bankruptcy procedures against the carrier.
"Now that the company has become insolvent, the court can move to launch bankruptcy procedures," lead administrator Balazs Fabian told journalists. "The company will soon announce mass lay-offs," he added, without specifying how many of the 2,600 staff would be affected.
Following today's announcement, Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio that a new national airline could be still established if investors were prepared to operate it profitably and risk their own money.
Meanwhile, Ryanair has said it will open a base in Budapest in two weeks' time, subject to agreement with Budapest Airport on costs, facilities and handling. It says it will base four planes at the airport, and open 31 new routes.