August 19, 2007	Sunday	Sha’aban 5, 1428

GENEVA, Aug 18: Creditors of the bankrupt airline Swissair will probably start to receive payments for the first time in November, six years after the airline’s spectacular collapse, the company’s liquidator said Saturday.

Karl Wuethrich, the lawyer appointed to oversee the liquidation of the company’s assets, said in a circular to creditors that he was planning to begin interim payments out of a total 9.82bn Swiss francs ($8.11bn) in recognised claims.

A large proportion of the claims — 5.25bn Swiss francs — are still subject to litigation in a Zurich district court, the circular added.

They include 3.88 billion Swiss francs relating to the company’s operations in Belgium, where Swissair had taken over the former flag carrier Sabena, and challenges over aircraft leasing contracts.

First- and second-class claims -- notably by staff employed by the airline and its parent group when it went under -- account for nearly 19 million Swiss francs. They are likely to receive the total amount they are claiming.

Creditors in Swissair’s parent company SAirGroup had lodged total claims of $48.9 billion, according to Wuetrich’s debt restructuring data.—AFP