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By Humphrey Carter

PALMA
THERE was further bad news for a group of 100 employees from the Palma-based airline Futura International yesterday as they protested outside the carrier's Palma head office demanding to be paid and also informed of the very latest developments in the company's application for insolvency.

Within minutes of the protest getting under way, the Spanish civil aviation authorities announced that it was suspending the operating license of Futura International Airways after it sought bankruptcy protection.

The license could, however, be reactivated if Futura found an investor to finance its savings plan before 2009, the airline quoted the aviation authorities as saying.

Futura chairman Roman Pane earlier said the carrier would reduce its staff of nearly 1'200 by half and trim its high-season fleet from 22 to about 12 aircraft.

The civil aviation authorities requested Futura to compensate passengers for any canceled flights.
The airline said it had already stopped its operations on September 7.