Vienna/Bratislava  - Slovak budget airline SkyEurope ended its operations and filed for bankruptcy Monday night, company spokesman Ronald Schranz said Tuesday. The decision left thousands of travellers stranded.

Since it started operating in 2002, the small airline had never made a profit.

Citing "lack of sufficient interim funding to finance ongoing operations," SkyEurope announced Monday night that it had stopped its flight services.

The decision to end operations was made by the court-appointed trustee of the company, which was granted creditor protection in Slovakia in June.

Having suffered from liquidity problems for years, the company came under increasing pressure this year.

With around 700 employees, SkyEurope had a net loss of 15.1 million euros (21.6 million dollars) in the last business quarter ending in June.

Trading of its shares was suspended on the Vienna stock exchange on Tuesday. Its shares are also listed in Warsaw.

At the end of July, SkyEurope had announced that it had secured yet another interim loan from a British company and that it had struck a tentative deal with Dutch investor Focus Equity BV to receive an injection of 16.5 million euros.

Problems mounted this summer when airplanes were grounded by airports in Paris, Sofia and Bucharest over unpaid fees.

In mid-August, Vienna's airport stopped handling the carrier's flights for the same reason, and on Monday, Prague airport threatened to follow suit.

The small airline used to make up to 10 flights each day to European holiday destinations from its hub in Bratislava and from Prague and Vienna.

Travellers with booked flights were left to their own devices, as SkyEurope informed them on its website that they must "order a return flight from some other airline at your own expense."

Austrian Airlines offered to fly stranded passengers back to Austria from eleven destinations in Europe for a price of 150 euros. (dpa)