Belgium's ailing Sabena airline has temporarily suspended most of its flights to Canada and the United States because bookings have dropped since it filed for bankruptcy protection. Sabena, preparing a recovery plan amid growing doubts about its ability to survive, said it would suspend its daily flights to Chicago, Dallas and Montreal as of next week, spokesman Mr Olivier Gillis said.

It would suspend one of its two daily flights to New York but keep its flights to Boston. It would also halt flights to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Bamako, Mali.

"We are concentrating on flights that have high bookings," Mr Gillis said, referring to those with European and African destinations. "We need to keep costs down."

Sabena has declined to comment on a recent report that it would file for bankruptcy for failing to find enough investors to help it create a new airline. It has already received a €125 million (£98.5 million) loan from the Belgian government to pursue that end.