Airlines have been devastated by Covid-19.

Virgin Atlantic was perhaps one of the earliest to register the impact of the virus.

In April earlier this year, it was reported that Virgin's founder, Richard Branson, sought a government bailout of £500 million (S$867.4 million), but faced backlash from the public and politicians.

In July, they announced that they would be cutting over 3,000 jobs, calling the last six-months the toughest in their 36-year history.

Virgin has however managed to raise US$1.25 billion in a rescue deal later on, which would hopefully secure the safety more than 6,000 jobs.

However that rescue deal is not guaranteed just yet. According to BBC, this requires approval from "creditors under a court-sanctioned process".

To facilitate this process, BBC reported on Aug. 5 that Virgin Atlantic is seeking protection under chapter 15 of the US bankruptcy code.

CNN reported that the filing came on the same day of a U.K. court hearing where Virgin Atlantic received approval to call a meeting of creditors to vote on the restructuring plan.

Virgin Atlantic warns that if that deal is not approved, the airline could run out of cash by next month, and would run out of money completely by end-September.

Global air travel is not expected to fully recover till 2024.

Image from Getty/ Wikipedia