Copenhagen, May 4 (IANS): Denmark's low-cost airline Cimber Sterling filed for bankruptcy Thursday following a loss of around $14 million, a media report said.

"Cimber Sterling's owners no longer wish to financially support the company. Therefore, the company board has decided to file for bankruptcy," Xinhua quoted the company as saying in a statement to the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

According to Danish financial newspaper Boersen, the airline's latest financial statement showed it had an operating loss of 81.5 million Danish kroner (around $14 million) and negative equity of 82.5 million kroner.

Cimber Sterling chief executive officer Jan Palmer said the company had tried to make a profit in its operations, but "simply could not turn things around quick enough to deliver the necessary economic result".

Up to 600 employees now stand to lose their jobs, Palmer said.

The bankruptcy meant all Cimber Sterling flights were cancelled, and all tickets issued for flights on the carrier were now worthless, the airline said.

Cimber Sterling was a small, low-cost airline that operated on domestic routes, and was a rival to bigger players such as Norwegian, Finnair and SAS. The Danish carrier also flew to destinations elsewhere in Europe, but could not compete on costs.