The administrators of collapsed low-cost carrier Bonza have admitted the hopes of finding a buyer for the airline are fading ahead of a Friday deadline to sell the business, suggesting instead they will pursue a legal claim against its insurers.

Hall Chadwick’s Richard Albarran told a confidential meeting of creditors on Thursday that he now considered a sale unlikely, and that he expected the jobs of airline’s staff were likely to be permanently terminated next week after being suspended in late April.