REX Airlines was in half a billion dollars of debt at the time of its collapse,  a creditors meeting has heard.

The meeting was convened by administrators from Ernst & Young today (Friday August 9). During the meeting the scale of the debt was revealed, and that the airline had some 4,800 creditors.

Many of the creditors are recently terminated employees, who were told that there were no funds immediately available to pay their wages or redundancy settlement.

READ: REX Airlines poised for administration

Administrators also told the meeting that the airline’s B737 aircraft had already been returned to their respective lessors. This means that capital city services will not resume, even if a buyer for that part of the business come forward.

However, there was some good news announced at the meeting. Ernst & Young were keen to say that they had been ‘inundated’ with requests to buy the airline as a going concern, and were confident that a buyer could still be found.

REX, also known as Regional Express, had been operating since the early 2000s with its primary fleet comprising of Saab turboprops. It was the second regional airline collapse this year, following the closure of Bonza in May.