FRANKFURT (REUTERS) - Austrian airline Niki will stop flying for the time being after filing for insolvency, parent Air Berlin said on Wednesday (Dec 13).

After Lufthansa's planned acquisition of Niki fell through and no other buyer could be found at short notice, Niki filed a petition to open insolvency proceedings with the a court in Berlin-Charlottenburg, it added.

Lufthansa had said on Wednesday it had offered to give up take-off and landing slots in order to get the deal approved, but that the European Commission considered that to be insufficient.