Airship firm runs out of options

Can anyone make airships fly economically?

Shares in Germany's Cargolifter have lost half their value, after the government said it would not bail out the insolvent airship maker.

The court-appointed bankruptcy administrator had asked for 40m euros (£25.4m; $38.8m) in state aid as part of a rescue package.

"That concept has now failed and an alternative concept does not currently exist," a Cargolifter spokeswoman said.

Cargolifter, which depended heavily on state subsidies, overspent heavily in its bid to revive the airship as a means of moving bulky cargo such as oil rigs and power station components.

The firm filed for insolvency in June after a lack of financing forced it to ditch plans for its flagship project, a 260-metre helium-filled vessel.

No hand-outs

The government said the blame could all be laid at Cargolifter's door.

Practical, or just pretty?

The firm failed "to correct the mistakes made by the earlier leadership and to win over potential users of the technology," the finance ministry said.

Cargolifter, the ministry said, had not presented "reliable evidence about the marketing of the product and corresponding information about the long-term profitability of the company."

Cargolifter was supported by the local government, since it created jobs in the depressed eastern state of Brandenburg.

But the federal government's attitude to bail-outs has hardened in recent years, and a string of high-profile names have been allowed to go to the wall.

Open to offers

Now, the firm's main hope is to find a partner - a process apparently neglected while it waited for a response from the government.

Over the past few weeks, US aviation giant Boeing has expressed interest in developing blimp-type craft for the defence market.

And Cargolifter's facilities, including a huge hangar in Brandenburg, have reportedly been eyed by British rival ATG.

Many in the business believe that airships could represent a viable alternative for transportation of bulky objects, if not of people.

But the investments involved in developing such craft have so far proved unsustainable.