Air Australia placed in administration

Air Australia posted a statement on its website on Friday morning announcing it had been put into voluntary administration.

"On February 17 2012, the Director of the Air Australia group of companies appointed John Park and Mark Korda of KordaMentha as voluntary administrators''.

Air Australia,the Brisbane-based international and domestic airline – formerly known as Strategic Airlines – said all flights had been cancelled and it would not be accepting new bookings because it could no longer pay its bills.

Air Australia's fleet consists of five Airbus A330-200 and A320-200 aircraft. It regularly flies to Bali, Phuket, Honolulu and cities within Australia.

Qantas and Jetstar will try to help passengers stranded after fledgling budget airline Air Australia entered administration, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says.