Bonza administrators sack airline’s staff ahead of announcement about its future

Bonza appears almost certain to be wound up after the administrators determining the troubled airline’s future terminated its staff. Guardian Australia understands administrators from the firm Hall Chadwick told staff during a meeting on Tuesday they had been sacked. Employees subsequently voiced their frustrations at how the administration process had been conducted, sources say. The budget airline’s 323 employees had been stood down since 30 April when the airline appointed administrators after its fleet of six Boeing 737 Max-8 aircraft was abruptly repossessed. It later became clear that Bonza’s local business leaders had been blindsided by a breakdown in the relationship between 777 Partners – the airline’s private equity sole owners – and that firm’s financier, the US insurance giant Advantage Capital Holdings, known as A-Cap, which led to a change in the ownership structure of the leased aircraft last month. Early on in the administration process, the administrators had been confident of finding a buyer for the airline, but those hopes faded in recent weeks. Interested buyers had been given until last Friday to put in offers for Bonza. Guardian Australia understands none were received by the deadline. A spokesperson for the administrators told Guardian Australia a statement would be released on Tuesday afternoon detailing the future of the airline – after staff had been notified.<br/>