BBC: Thousands stranded by Air Madrid
Efforts are being made to find a solution for up to 100,000 air passengers stranded by the collapse of Spanish budget airline Air Madrid.
The carrier suspended flights on Friday after months of operational problems, throwing many people's travel plans into chaos. Thousands trapped at airports in Spain and Latin America face the prospect of not making it home for Christmas.
Air Madrid employees have submitted a buyout plan to try to keep flying. Workers felt bad that the company's failure meant many Romanians or Latin American migrants in Spain might not be able to spend Christmas at home, said Air Madrid manager Pablo Morera.
"The quickest and most immediate solution would be to make an offer to the company's ownership to cede shares to the workers, name a management group on behalf of the workers, and draw up a safety plan so we can start flying as soon as possible", said Mr Morera. The viability plan has been drawn up in the hope of persuading the government to restore the airline's operating licence, which was suspended on Saturday.
Meanwhile the Spanish government has chartered flights to help some travellers get home.
The repercussions of the company's collapse are being felt across the Atlantic. Peruvian America TV news reported that more than 5,000 Peruvians had been stranded, while Ecuadorean Ecuavisa TV news said Air Madrid's manager in Ecuador had been forbidden from leaving the country. Ecuador's government said it would try to ensure that Ecuadoreans unable to return to work after being stranded in Spain would not lose their jobs, the channel reported.