It was getting close to 8pm on Thursday, April 16, when Paul Scurrah finally accepted the airline he leads was unlikely to avoid financial collapse. The Virgin Australia chief executive was attending a virtual meeting inside the makeshift office in his brisbane home when bad news filtered through from Canberra.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison had used a television interview to declare a fix to the airline’s woes was at hand. It was not the type of solution Scurrah had been holding out for.
Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah after announcing the company had gone into administration on Tuesday.Credit: Louise Kennerley
Morrison said his government would not get in the way of a “commercial solution” to save Australia’s second airline as it teetered on the brink of collapse. “And there are many things going on there,” the Prime Minister said.
It was the first time the Virgin camp had heard of a fix that did not involve at least some taxpayers’ cash. The interview was a clear message that after weeks of back and forth, any hope of government support was shot.
Australia’s second airline went into voluntary administration the following Monday, this week. The move adds to the…
