United Airlines temporarily lost most of its market value yesterday after a false report the carrier had returned to bankruptcy court surfaced on the internet.

A six-year-old Chicago Tribune story on United's 2002 bankruptcy filing - spotted on a Google search by an investment newsletter - triggered a sell-off of the carrier's shares that ended when trading was halted. The stock reached a low of $3, then rebounded once trading resumed to close down 11 per cent.