The Belgian government said today it will go to court to force Swissair into providing cash promised to the financially strapped Belgian airline Sabena.
Swissair filed for protection from creditors yesterday and said its former affiliate Crossair, a financially healthy regional airline, would take over two-thirds of the flights from the national flag carrier.
Yesterday, Swissair announced it would not make a scheduled payment of about $123 million this week to a recapitalisation fund for Sabena, in which it holds a 49.5 per cent stake.
The move angered the Belgian government, which owns the rest of Sabena, especially since the cash payments were key elements of an earlier compromise reached after Swissair reneged on a promise to increase its stake in the company to 85 per cent.
"Special attention will be paid to the legal actions we are forced to take," Privatisation Minister Mr Rik Daems said after a cabinet meeting.
Swissair cancelled flights to Belgium today, saying it feared its aircraft would be seized.
The Belgian cabinet also examined whether it would be able to provide Sabena a bridge loan to get through the difficult spell.
Over the decades, Sabena has been shored up by government subsidies several times, but the EU's executive commission tightly restricts government bailouts.