Executives at the no-frills carrier Zoom have said that the airline was in debt in the amount of £20-25 million.

Estimates by industry experts that the transatlantic airline might owe up to three times that much were rejected out of hand by officials at the carrier.

The Ottawa, Canada-based airline operate out of both the UK and Canada. It was forced to ground all flights late last week in preparing to go into administration, leaving thousands of passengers stranded on both sides of the Atlantic.

A report has surfaced that indicates paperwork filed with the Superintendent of Bankruptcy in Canada list Zoom’s debts as more than £62.7 million. A Zoom spokesperson insists that the figure is incorrect: “The position of the management of Zoom is that that is not an accurate reflection of the debts of the company. We don’t know how this figure has been arrived at.”

The figure that has been alluded to allegedly includes $78 million in advanced ticket sales, but the spokesman added that it’s unlikely that Zoom would have ended up in administration if this were accurate.

“It’s likely that the debts will be substantial,” he continued. “Our estimate is that it’s likely to be in the £20-£25 million category – but it’s not possible for anyone at this time to give a definitive figure.”

The spokesman went on to say that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) monitors the financial situation of all airlines and would not have permitted the debt load to reach that level.

www.flyzoom.com