Tigerair Australia shuts down due to Covid-19 after operating for 13 years

Its parent company Virgin Australia also cut 3,000 jobs.

Zhangxin Zheng | September 12, 2020, 05:31 PM

Budget airline Tigerair Australia officially announced its discontinuation after operating for 13 years, according to 9News.

The company confirmed its closure officially in an email to their customers, saying that this is a tough time for the travel and tourism industry.

Those who have purchased flight tickets from Tigerair Australia will have their tickets converted to flight credits for future bookings under its parent company, Virgin Australia.

According to Yahoo, Virgin Australia said in August that Tigerair will be discontinued but the company will retain its air operator certificate so that the brand can be revived again when the travel demand resumes.

The reason for discontinuing Tigerair was due to insufficient demand to support both carriers.

Apart from shutting down Tigerair Australia, Virgin Australia also cut 3,000 jobs, local media reported in August.

Virgin Australia's Chief Executive Officer, Paul Scurrah, said that travel demand is likely to take at least three years to return to pre-Covid-19 levels, or could be even longer.

Jetstar is now the only budget airline operating in Australia.

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Top photo via Tigerair Australia/Facebook