In March 2001 , two studies by consultants were presented to the Board , which showed the financial difficulties of SAirGroup . At this point , the Directors resigned , with only Mario Corti , former CFO of Nestlé , staying behind . The buying spree created a major cash flow crisis for parent company SAirGroup , and was exacerbated by the environment caused by the September 11 attacks . Unable to make payments to creditors on its large debt , and with the refusal of UBS AG to extend its line of credit , on 2 October 2001 the entire Swissair fleet was abruptly grounded . Many blamed UBS for the fiasco , causing demonstrators to take to the streets with signs referring to UBS chairman , Marcel Ospel as " '' Bin Ospel '' " , in reference to al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden , and redefining the bank 's acronym , " UBS " as the '' United Bandits of Switzerland ''
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Swissair