Virgin Atlantic ‘will collapse next month’ without deal

VIRGIN Atlantic will collapse in mid-September unless creditors approve a £1.2billion rescue deal, a court has heard.

Sir Richard Branson’s airline has been fighting to survive amid plunging passenger numbers during the covid crisis.

It has already announced drastic plans to lay off 3,150 of 10,000 staff while abandoning its Gatwick base.

Sir Richard, 70, even offered up his Caribbean island, Necker, as collateral for a private loan after the Treasury rejected a bid for emergency cash.

Bosses last month unveiled a rescue plan using private funding – including £200million from Branson himself – to save the airline and 10,000 British jobs.

But it needs approval from creditors under a High Courtsanctioned process. Virgin Atlantic lawyer David Allison QC yesterday warned that the airline’s cash flow will drop to ‘critical levels’ by mid-September – and that it will ‘run out of money altogether’ by the week beginning September 28, unless the bailout is approved in a crucial vote on August 25.

However, a Virgin Atlantic spokesman was ‘confident’ the plan would be voted through.