Mexico City: Compania Mexicana de Aviacion was set to ground all flights Saturday, said Nuevo Grupo Aeronautico SA, the holding company for the airline.
The suspension will affect all operations, including the low-cost airlines MexicanaClick and MexicanaLink, the company said on Friday in an e-mailed statement.
Tenedora K, the group of investors that bought the majority of Mexicana last week, will seek additional capital to inject into the company, Communications and Transportation Minister Juan Molinar Horcasitas said separately.
Mexicana will start reducing flights today, Horcasitas told reporters in Mexico City.
The group of investors acquired a majority stake on August 20, and the country's pilots' union holds five per cent.
Bankruptcy
Mexicana filed for protection from creditors in Mexico and under Chapter 15 of the US Bankruptcy Code on August 3, after executives said they failed to reach cost-saving agreements with labour unions.
Tenedora K, which was formed to buy Mexicana, said last week that the purchase was "the first step in order to establish the conditions that will eventually allow for a process of restructuring".
The Mexican companies Grupo Industrial Omega SA and Grupo Arizan are among Tenedora K's investors, according to a statement. The sellers included Grupo Posadas SAB, Mexico's largest hotel operator.
The Chapter 15 petition, which bars US creditors from seizing planes or cancelling contracts, listed more than $500 million (Dh1.8 billion) in assets and $1 billion in debt.
Before filing for bankruptcy protection, Mexicana flew to more than 65 national and international destinations, including in the US, Canada, Europe and Latin America.
