Indonesian court declares budget carrier Batavia Air bankrupt

JAKARTA (AP) - Indonesia's commercial court has declared budget carrier Batavia Air bankrupt just months after AirAsia, South-east Asia's top low-cost airline, aborted a deal to invest in it, officials said on Thursday.

Jakarta Commercial Court Judge Agus Iskandar said a bankruptcy petition filed by United States-based International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) was approved on Wednesday after Batavia Air failed to pay a US$4.7 million (S$5.8 million) debt that was due on Dec 13.

Flights abruptly stopped just after midnight, stranding hundreds of passengers across the country.

Batavia's debt was from the purchase of two Airbus A-330s financed by ILFC through a leasing scheme.