CANBERRA, Australia — Virgin Australia plans to scale down its operations under new U.S. owners and shed a third of its staff as the carrier adjusts to the pandemic, the nation’s second-largest airline said on Wednesday. The Brisbane-based company in April became the world’s largest airline to seek bankruptcy protection after the coronavirus pandemic virtually grounded the aviation industry. Virgin’s administrator Deloitte’s has entered into a binding agreement to sell the airline to the Boston-based investment firm Bain Capital. The deal will go within weeks for final approval to a meeting of Virgin creditors who are owed 7 billion Australian dollars ($5 billion). The Virgin Australia Group chief executive and managing director Paul Scurrah announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs plus long-haul flights from Australia to Los Angeles and Tokyo to try to reset the business for lower global demand.

Source: International New York Times August 05, 2020 04:52 UTC