Sir Richard Branson has warned that Virgin Atlantic will collapse unless it receives Government support.
The Virgin Group boss said the airline needs taxpayer support in the form of a commercial loan.
It has been reported that the carrier is asking for up to £500 million of public money.
We need Government support
In an open letter to Virgin Group employees, Sir Richard wrote: “We will do everything we can to keep the airline going – but we will need Government support to achieve that in the face of the severe uncertainty surrounding travel today and not knowing how long the planes will be grounded for.
“This would be in the form of a commercial loan – it wouldn’t be free money and the airline would pay it back (as easyJet will do for the £600 million loan the Government recently gave them).
“The reality of this unprecedented crisis is that many airlines around the world need government support and many have already received it.
“Without it there won’t be any competition left and hundreds of thousands more jobs will be lost, along with critical connectivity and huge economic value.”
Tax haven companies
The pleas come as Poland and Denmark moved to exclude tax haven companies from coronavirus relief schemes.
The Danish government announced this weekend that companies which pay out dividends, buy back own shares or are registered in offshore tax jurisdictions won’t be eligible for any of the state aid programmes.
Poland attached similar caveats to its own bail-out schemes, making PLN 25 billion available to large firms who pay taxes in Poland and not elsewhere.
Related: F*** business: Somebody needs to knock heads together and fast
Since you are here
Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.
Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.
Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.
If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.
To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.
The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.
The shop can be found here.
You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .
