The rumours have been officially confirmed. Virgin Australia Holdings Limited has entered voluntary administration, putting 10,000 jobs at risk.

Vaughan Strawbridge, John Greig, Sal Algeri and Richard Hughes of Deloitte were appointed as voluntary administrators of the company.

The measure was taken in response to chaos created by the coronavirus crisis which deprived the airline of almost all income. Now the administrators will have to find new investors, restructure and re-finance the business to secure the future of one of the biggest carriers in Australia.

“We have commenced a process of seeking interest from parties for participation in the recapitalisation of the business and its future, and there have been several expressions of interest so far”, said Vaughan Strawbridge, one of the administrators.

“Virgin Australia will continue to operate its scheduled international and domestic flights which are helping to transport essential workers, maintain important freight corridors, and return Australians home”, the airline said in a statement.

Velocity Frequent Flyer, while owned by the Group, is a separate company and is not in administration.