Poll: Will Any U.S. Carriers Need To File For Chapter 11 This Year?

UK carrier Virgin Atlantic, which is 49% owned by Delta Air Lines, filed for bankruptcy protection in a New York court Aug. 4.

The move comes just three weeks after Virgin announced a restructuring and financing deal that seemed to secure the carrier’s future. Virgin resumed scheduled passenger flights on July 20 after arranging a recapitalization deal worth around £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) over 18 months. Shareholders Virgin Group and Delta provided around £600 million, including £200 million previously announced by Virgin Group, partially raised from the sale of shares in the Virgin Galactic commercial space venture.

Unlike U.S. carriers, airlines in South America and the UK have received little to no government aid despite the sudden and massive effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand for air travel and the related quarantine rules that are severely restricting travel to and from those regions.

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