A French court ordered the closure of XL Airways France (SE, Paris CDG) on October 4 after it declared insolvency, the AFP news agency has reported. A commercial court in Bobigny near Paris rejected a last-minute offer for the carrier and ordered that it be placed in judicial liquidation. Its 570 employees will now lose their jobs.
XL had halted all flights on September 30 and struggled to attract bids after being placed into receivership.
A last-minute takeover offer was filed on October 2, originating from Lu Azur, founded by Gérard Houa, one of the minority shareholders of Aigle Azur (ZI, Paris Orly), which itself entered into liquidation on September 27. Houa had been one of the declared potential buyers of Aigle Azur before his project was dismissed on the grounds that a shareholder could not be a candidate for the resumption of his own company.
Lu Azur said it was able to provide EUR30 million euros (USD33 million) to revive XL Airways, divided into two halves, EUR15 million (USD16.5 million) in equity...