Branson says Virgin Atlantic will need UK govt help to survive

Virgin Atlantic will only survive the coronavirus outbreak if it gets financial support from the British govt, the airline's founder Richard Branson said Monday. Virgin Atlantic last month asked the govt for emergency financial help in addition to the coronavirus package made available to all British companies, but a deal has not yet been reached. "We will do everything we can to keep the airline going – but we will need govt 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," Branson said in a blog post to staff. "This would be in the form of a commercial loan – it wouldn’t be free money and the airline would pay it back." <br/>