INDIANAPOLIS — Frontier Airlines Holdings, the parent company of the 5,000-employee Denver airline, said Thursday that the bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York approved its bankruptcy plan, clearing the way for Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings to purchase the company.

Creditors earlier voted 92 percent in favor of the plan, in which Republic offered up to $108.8 million for Frontier and agreed to waive $150 million in existing claims. That bid beat an offer from Southwest Airlines Co. in an auction because Frontier’s and Southwest’s pilots unions couldn’t agree on how they would work together. Republic expects to close on its purchase on or before Oct. 1. (Star report)