Australia: Branson in video message to Virgin Australia staff

Virgin founder Richard Branson vowed he was determined to see Virgin Australia "back up and running soon" after the nation's second-largest airline, announced Tuesday it had entered voluntary administration.

The carrier is seeking bankruptcy protection after a debt crisis worsened by the coronavirus shutdown pushed it into insolvency.

Virgin 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."

"This is not the end for Virgin Australia but I believe in hope and new beginning, I promise that we will work day and night to turn this into a reality," Branson said in a video message.

Virgin is one of the first major airlines to seek bankruptcy protection in response to the pandemic.

The move came after the Australian government refused Virgin's request for a 1.4 billion Australian dollar (888 million US dollar) loan.

Rival Qantas Airways argued it had three times more revenue than Virgin and was therefore entitled to a 4.2 billion Australian dollar (2.7 billion US dollars) loan if the smaller airline was not to gain an unfair advantage.

Virgin Australia's major shareholders are Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways as well as Chinese investment conglomerates Nanshan Group and HNA Group.

British billionaire founder Branson holds a 10% stake.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra his "government was not going to bail out five large foreign shareholders with deep pockets who together own 90% of this airline."

The Australian government and businesses fear a collapse of Virgin would leave Qantas with a virtual monopoly in Australia's domestic aviation market.

Virgin will continue to operate its scheduled international and domestic flights, most of which have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

The airline is struggling to repay five billion Australian dollar in debt after several loss-making years.

Brisbane-based Virgin has 130 aircraft and employs 10,000 staff.