The fleet of the former national carrier Swissair was grounded in early October 2001, when it could no longer pay airport taxes or buy kerosene for its planes.
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Switzerland’s Federal Court has cleared 14 former bosses of the failed Swissair group of mismanagement in relation to its collapse nearly 20 years ago.
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The country’s highest court upheld a 2018 decision by a Zurich commercial court, which had been appealed by the Swissair liquidator.
The liquidator claimed the 14 former bosses failed in their duties as financial administrators, approving loans that could not be repaid after the company’s collapse and disregarding the rules of corporate governance.
But the Zurich court, whose decision is now confirmed, said Swissair needed to keep its air operations going, which required funding. The Federal Court decision on Friday upholds all the conclusions of the Zurich court, although it has reduced the legal costs of the case somewhat.
The 14 former bosses include former CEOs of Swissair (Mario Corti) and its holding company SAirGroup (Philippe Bruggisser), and ex-board members.
Swissair planes were grounded on October 2, 2001, after the company had been in business for 71 years. The downturn in the aviation market after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, proved the last straw for the heavily indebted national carrier, which folded the following year.
The remains of Swissair and the regional carrier Crossair were brought together in 2002 to form the new national carrier Swiss International Air Lines. After a shaky start which threatened the existence of the fledgling airline, Swiss was taken over by Germany’s Lufthansa in 2005.
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Court dismisses case against 14 ex-heads of bankrupt Swissair
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A Zurich court has rejected a case brought by the liquidators of former airline Swissair against 14 ex-directors of the company.
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But neither the board nor the airline’s management have been found guilty of mismanagement, even though claims worth SFr3 billion ($3.3 billion) are still pending against them. The months before the grounding were chaotic. The drama had been slowly unfolding, but nobody really believed that the company would suffer a fatal blow. However on the afternoon…
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Wüthrich argues that Swissair’s last CEO, Mario Corti, made a number of strategic errors in the days and weeks before the carrier’s demise. In an interview with the SonntagsZeitung newspaper, the liquidator said that the Swissair group lost its way when it became part of the larger SAirGroup holding. “It tried to grow too fast,…
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The report was leaked to the “Tages Anzeiger” newspaper as creditors learned they would receive only a fraction of the SFr22.7 billion they claim they are owed. The Ernst & Young report was due to be issued on Wednesday to Swissair creditors, who were told on the same day that they would receive just SFr472…
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