Belgian state airline Sabena was declared bankrupt today as its last scheduled flight flew home to Brussels to mark the end of the carrier's 78 year history.
Industry analysts fear it will not be the only state airline to go to the wall in the wake of the US terror attacks.
Belgian Prime Minister Mr Guy Verhofstadt said a deal had been reached between Belgian's three regional governments and 12 private investors to pump some ST£123 million into plans to set up a new regional airline out of Sabena's subsidiary Delta Air Transport, or DAT.
The court ruling means Sabena is insolvent and will come under the control of eight court administrators who are expected to sell off parts of the airline to raise money for awaiting creditors.
The carrier had already grounded most of its planes to prepare for the decision to shut down operations, causing chaos for passengers and the company's 12,000 employees.
As disgruntled Sabena workers protested at Brussels International airport, other carriers rerouted or cancelled flights virtually shutting down the airport.
The Belgian Prime Minister said the goal was for the new airline to concentrate on European and African routes.
Talks to reach a final agreement on how the new airline would operate were still ongoing, but Privatisation Minister Mr Rik Daems said the new airline could provide jobs for 6,000-7,000 Sabena employees.
Thousands of Sabena staff ignored a request to stay home and occupied the main terminal at Brussels airport where a few bemused passengers were greeted by electronic notice boards showing all departures cancelled.
"It's awful," said Fabienne De Clerck, a flight attendant with 18 years experience at Sabena. "There were always problems, but they were good years. Now we don't know what's going to happen to us."
Riot police kept protesters from moving on to the Tarmac allowing a handful of planes to land. Police backed by water cannon also pushed back angry Sabena workers who headed to the city centre to march on Mr Verhofstadt's residence.
AP