Petters Aviation, which owns MN Airline Holdings, the parent company of
Sun Country Airlines, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The US low-cost airline insists it will continue to operate and to fly its normal schedule.
Petters Aviation is a wholly owned unit of Thomas Petters Inc, part of Petters Group Worldwide, a diversified private company based in Minnesota in the US. Petters Group has faced mounting problems in recent weeks as it has become involved in a US federal investigation into alleged fraud.
The company's headquarters were searched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service on September 24. The figure at the centre of the investigation is founder Thomas Petters, who resigned last week as chairman both of Petters Group Worldwide and Sun Country. The investigation concerns allegations that individuals at the company schemed to defraud investors of $100 million
or more since the 1990s.
Sun Country president and ceo Stan Gadek, who has also taken up the chairman's position, said "We were forced to take this action as a result of recent events at Petters Group Worldwide." "We do not anticipate any disruptions, and expect to operate business as usual," he said.
