Virgin Australia airline seeks bankruptcy protection

SYDNEY: Virgin Australia, the nation’s second-largest airline, announced it had entered voluntary administration, seeking bankruptcy protection after a debt crisis worsened by the coronavirus shutdown pushed it into insolvency.

The airline said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that it had appointed a team of Deloitte administrators to "recapitalize the business and help ensure it emerges in a stronger financial position on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis". Virgin is one of the first major airlines to seek bankruptcy protection in response to the pandemic. Virgin's administrators have taken control of the company and will try to work out a way to save either the company or its business, foreign media reported on Tuesday.