Coronavirus forces Alaska’s Ravn Air into bankruptcy

Alaska’s Ravn Air Group, an airline with more than 70 planes, has filed for bankruptcy, saying its business has dried up and it has run out of cash in the wake of the novel coronavirus. The Anchorage-based carrier said it applied for aid last week under the roughly $2t stimulus package recently approved by Congress, but it is unsure whether or when it will get the financing. Government assistance will be key to helping Ravn Air resume operations and rehire the roughly 1,300 employees it has laid off as a result of the pandemic-related business interruptions, the company said Sunday in a filing in US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Formal documents are being finalized, but the regional carrier expects existing lenders including French bank BNP Paribas to provide $12m in financing to help it get through bankruptcy. The company hasn’t ruled out ultimately selling the business or liquidating it, court papers said.<br/>