Virgin Atlantic, the airline founded by British businessman Richard Branson, filed Tuesday for protection in U.S. bankruptcy court as it tries to survive the virus pandemic that is hammering the airline industry. The airline made the Chapter 15 filing in U.S. federal bankruptcy court in New York after a proceeding in the United Kingdom. A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic said the bankruptcy filing is part of a court process in the United Kingdom to carry out a restructuring plan that the airline announced last month. A Virgin Atlantic lawyer said in a court filing that the company needs an order from a U.S. court to make terms of the restructuring apply in the U.S. Last month, Virgin Atlantic announced that it had put together a deal to raise nearly US$1.6 billion from private sources, including 200 million pounds from Branson’s Virgin Group.

Source: The Standard August 05, 2020 05:37 UTC