Vienna  - , chief executive of Austrian Airlines AG, was forced to step down with immediate effect, ahead of the flag carrier's planned takeover by German airline Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Austrian media reported Thursday.

Lufthansa agreed last December to buy a 42 per cent stake in the ailing carrier currently held by Austria's state holding OeIAG. The deal is pending on approval from the European Commission.

An Austrian Airlines spokesperson said he could neither confirm nor deny the reports published by dailies Kurier and Oesterreich. But an official close to the takeover deal said Austrian Airlines might issue a statement later on Thursday.

Oetsch, 55, had lost credibility because he had insisted on running Austrian Airlines as an independent company for too long, according to media reports.

His statement in February 2008 that "Austrian Airlines' restructuring is completed" has been widely ridiculed. The company has debts of some 900 million euros (1.19 billion dollars). dpa