Spain says Air Madrid must pay to rescue passengers

MADRID, Dec 17 (Reuters) Air Madrid, the privately owned airline that suspended all flights on Friday,acted irresponsibly and must meet the cost of rescuing 120,000 stranded passengers, Spain's development minister said today.

''They have had at best an irresponsible attitude. I'm not going to call it anything else until the courts give an opinion,'' Magdalena Alvarez told a news conference.

The government, which has stepped in to charter aircraft and find seats with other airlines to take Air Madrid's passengers, said it was seeking 6.5 million euros (8.5 million dollars) in costs from the airline.

''We are going to claim indemnities ... We are going to fight with all the legal and judicial means possible,'' Alvarez said.

After suspending its operations on Friday without warning, the airline also failed to cooperate with the government by providing information on passengers waiting to fly, she said.

The development ministry said yesterday it was withdrawing Air Madrid's licence. It had kept a close watch since May on the airline, which had become infamous for its two-day delays and constant technical problems.

Inspectors grounded five of Air Madrid's seven planes on seven different occasions for failing to meet safety standards, the minister said, stressing that no planes had been allowed to fly while unsafe.

Many of the passengers left stranded by the airline are Latin Americans or Romanians working in Spain.

Some of those waiting at Madrid's Barajas airport were distraught, saying they had paid thousands of euros to go home and see their families, some for the first time in years.

The ministry has found return flights for 5,000 passengers so far. It urged passengers with tickets to contact ministry call centres for help.

''The company has the obligation to provide services for which it has taken payment in advance,'' Alvarez said.

REUTERS AB KP2349