On Tuesday, an Air Afrique flight to Ponte Noire and Kinshasa turned back shortly after take-off and returned to Abidjan. Passengers were told the plane did not have permission to fly over Ghana.

``As regards overflying Ghana, we are in debt to the country's air safety agency,'' Air Afrique spokesman Mansour Diop told said.

He declined to say how big the debts were. An Air Afrique source in the Senegalese capital Dakar told Reuters the company owed $200,000 to Ghana in overflight fees.

...Air Afrique planes grounded as debts mount

The Troubled multinational carrier said on Thursday many of its planes were grounded due to non-payment of leases and overflight fees.

Officials said Air Afrique's new chief, Marcel Mensah Kodjo, was in Paris holding talking on possible solutions with Air France , due to take a 35 percent stake in Air Afrique in an re-launch to clear massive debts.

Air Afrique was crippled by debt even before the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, which stung airlines around the world with enforced flight cancellations, a drop in bookings and higher insurance and security costs.

Officials of the airline estimated in September the company's debt stood at about 180 billion CFA francs ($248 million).

``We have three planes which have been stuck for 48 hours, one for long-haul flights and two for regional flights. We owe money to leasing company ILFC (International Lease Finance Corp '' Air Afrique spokesman Mansour Diop told Reuters.

Air Afrique has eight planes in operation, all leased, including the three which were grounded, company officials said.

Bailiffs acting for ILFC had stopped the planes leaving airports in Ivory Coast and Senegal's capital Dakar, Diop said.

``The chief executive is currently in Paris in talks with Air France executives,'' he added. No one at Air France was immediately available for comment.

Diop said most Air Afrique flights would be disrupted or suspended because of the fees problem. One flight took off from Paris earlier on Thursday bound for Abidjan, Ivory Coast, where the company is headquartered.

Air Afrique, set up in 1961 by former French colonies as a symbol of unity and independence, is majority owned by 11 Francophone African states, with minority stakes held by other bodies and companies including Air France.