The existing and future impacts of the current crisis are still difficult to determine, however, many aviation companies are already fighting their (last) battle for survival. Another among the endangered airlines appeared to be a British airline Virgin Atlantic.

In an open letter to the employees, the founder of the Virgin Group, Richard Branson, said that in order to survive and stay afloat, the company needs support from the UK government.

“Together with the team at Virgin Atlantic, 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”, writes Branson.

The company is asking for the support in form of a commercial loan that Virgin Atlantic will pay back. Branson referred to the same scheme applied to easyJet which has received the $748 million loan.

Apart from that, Branson highlighted the necessity of the competition that Virgin Atlantic, which started with a single plane 36 years ago, presents to British Airways.

“Over those years it has created real competition for British Airways, which must remain fierce for the benefit of our wonderful customers and the public at large”, he adds.

The grave situation is also going on at Virgin Australia which is also “fighting to survive and need support to get through this catastrophic global crisis”.

While still more uncertainty than certainty surrounds aviation and the future still looks gloomy, Branson believes that “when this crisis passes, as it eventually will, the world will be very different to the one we are used to”.

As many aviation professionals, experts, enthusiasts are already saying: the new aviation will have to get used to a ‘new normal’.