Brazil's flagship airline Varig, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, was sold to its former subsidiary VarigLog in a public auction on Thursday.

VarigLog, which had been bought earlier this year by a group led by investor Marco Antonio Audi, was the only bidder in the auction that had been ordered by a Brazilian bankruptcy court.

No other company was willing to put up the 24 million U.S. dollars to take part in the auction.

The new company, known as the new Varig, have 13 airplanes which fly to 25 national and international destinations.

But the new owner announced on Thursday that the airline would "temporarily" halt all international and domestic flights except those between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

The new Varig is expected to keep between 1,500 and 2,000 of the airline's current 10,000 employees.

But the new company will not have Varig's massive debt, which belongs to the "old" Varig.

VarigLog has to invest 150 million dollars in the new Varig within 30 days after the auction.

Varig, once Brazil's biggest airline, has been in financial trouble for years.

On June 8, a Varig workers' group agreed to purchase the airline for 449 million dollars at a bankruptcy auction.

But a judge annulled the sale plan after the group failed to make the first 75-million-dollar down payment.

Source: Xinhua