Spain's civil aviation authority suspended the flying license of Air Madrid airline on December 16, hours after the troubled airline announced it was halting its operation, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in Spain and abroad.

Spain's civil aviation authority said Air Madrid's proposal to cut delays did not go far enough to resolve the airline's problems of repeated flight delays that had devastated its ticket sales and credibility. It also said the airline had problems of security.

"This decision has been taken with total independence of the absolutely irresponsible and unilateral behavior of the company," a statement issued by Spain's civil aviation authority said.

The carrier, which mainly flies between Spain and Latin America, announced on December 15 that it was suspending its operations, blaming the government for its move.

It said ticket sales had fallen dramatically since a government statement threatened the suspension following serious flight delays on December 14.

The two-year-old airline gave no numbers, but Spanish National Radio said up to 300,000 ticket-holders could be affected.

The company's statement announcing its flights suspension made no mention of going out of business altogether, but said nothing either about when it might start flying again.

The airline has come under fierce criticism in recent months for delays that have left hundreds of passengers stranded at Madrid airport for days.

A month ago, for instance, an Air Madrid flight from Madrid to Buenos Aires departed after a more than one-day delay and passengers stormed a runway in protest. Other passengers of a flight bound to Balearic Islands slept on board as the plane was grounded in the city of Valencia, news reports said.

On December 15, Spain's Development Ministry said the government was chartering between four and six jumbo-sized planes to repatriate the most needy stranded passengers.

The government also said it would take legal action against the airline and claim back from Air Madrid 5 million euros (US$6.6 million) in funding for emergency flights.

Air Madrid was founded in 2004 and has 1,270 employees. In addition to Latin America, it flies to London, Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean.