VA operations to continue under Deloitte external administration.
Virgin Australia has just confirmed it has entered voluntary administration “in order to recapitalise the business and help ensure it emerges in a stronger financial position on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis”.
The company’s Board has appointed Vaughan Strawbridge, John Greig, Sal Algeri and Richard Hughes of Deloitte as voluntary administrators of the company and a number of its subsidiaries.
Velocity Frequent Flyer, while owned by the Group, is a separate company and has not been placed into administration.
VA said it would continue to operate its scheduled international and domestic flights which are helping to transport essential workers, maintain key freight corridors and bring Australians home.
The administrators will be supported by Virgin Australia’s current management team, led by CEO Paul Scurrah, and “will work closely with team members, suppliers and partners throughout the process”.
“Our intention is to undertake a process to restructure and refinance the business and bring it out of administration as soon as possible,” Strawbridge said.
Scurrah said the decision to place the airline into administration was about “securing the future of the Virgin Australia Group and emerging on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis”.
“Australia needs a second airline and we are determined to keep flying,” he added.
More details in today’s issue of Travel Daily.