Debt-ridden airline Mexicana de Aviacion is halting all operations, Mexico's transportation secretary said Friday.

Juan Francisco Molinar Horcasitas told reporters in Mexico City the struggling carrier will cease all flights and other activity as of midnight Friday night.

Mexicana said on Aug. 5 it was suspending selling tickets but would continue operating flights for passengers who had already bought them. It ceased operations Friday. (Alexandre Meneghini/Associated Press)

Mexico's largest airline filed for bankruptcy protection in Mexico and the United States on Aug. 2 while it sought to reorganize itself.

Three days later it announced that it had stopped selling tickets and then suspended some flights.

In court filings, the company said it had been badly hit by the swine flu outbreak in 2009 that scared away travellers for months and by the global economic slowdown.

The airline also blamed its financial troubles on high jet fuel prices and high labour costs.

Mexicana flew to more than 65 national and international destinations, including the United States, Canada, Central America, South America and Europe. It transported 11.1 million passengers in 2009.

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press