Bonza halts all flights as customers left stranded by budget airline

The company entered voluntary administration on April 30. Passengers holding a ticket to May 2 have been advised by the airline's voluntary administrators Hall Chadwick to not travel to the airport. They said they were "currently considering the continued trading of the company's operations" and the employment of staff at the airline.

"The company's fleet is currently grounded pending discussions with relevant parties and key stakeholders," the administrators said.

"The discussions regarding ongoing trading are occurring over the forthcoming days and the administrators will be in a position to update all stakeholders as the matter progresses.

"The administrators are conscious of the impact of the grounding of the company's fleet and are working alongside the existing senior management of the company and the aircraft operational team in respect to ongoing trading.

"The administrators have also commenced engagement with all key stakeholders including secured creditors, government bodies, key suppliers, and contractors," a statement said.

Earlier on Tuesday Bonza CEO Tim Jordan said the airline had "temporarily suspended services due to be operated today, as discussions are currently underway regarding the ongoing viability of the business."

"We apologise to our customers who are impacted by this and we're working as quickly as possible to determine a way forward that ensures there is ongoing competition in the Australian domestic aviation market."

The Australian Government has established a hotline for stranded passengers which can be called on 1800 069 244 and is open until 10pm on April 30.

A phoneline has also been established by the administrators for concerned customers wishing to discuss continued operations of the airline on 03 8678 1600.

Federal transport minister Catherine King said her department had been in contact with the airline and understood its board was in discussions.

"At this stage the information we have about what is happening with Bonza is somewhat limited," she said.

"We have made it very clear to Bonza that our expectations are that they inform passengers about what their options are, what changes are being made, and that they respect their consumer rights, of which they do have some."

Ms King said she had spoken to Qantas and Virgin, which have both offered complimentary travel where possible to stranded travellers. Traeger MP Robbie Katter slammed the regional airline last week for a lack of communication following its decision to halve the number of services from Mount Isa.

The company announced it would drop one flight from its weekly schedule next month, leaving a solitary service per week flying to the Gold Coast.

Mr Katter said the lack of communication from the company was the is the most concerning aspect of the announcement.

"More disappointing is the total lack of communication to passengers who have bookings on the now cancelled flights," he said.

Mr Katter pointed to at least four other commercial airlines servicing Mount Isa and said he is not calling on either state or federal government's to provide support to one airline or another.

"Competition is important to make sure that the prices we pay to fly to and from Mount Isa is kept to a minimum," he said.

Last week the airline denied claims it is seeking financial advice from an advisory firm amid passenger anger over the service changes.

The Australian Financial Review reported that eight of the airline's planes have been repossessed by creditors.