Virgin Australia administrators stop giving credits and refunds for cancelled flights

Administrators of Virgin Australia have stopped issuing refunds and flight credits to customers who cancel their trips. In an email sent to customers who requested a refund or a credit, the airline said it had “temporarily paused issuing new travel credits and refunds while we wait for direction from the administrator”. The move is understood to be designed to shield the administrators – Deloitte partners Vaughan Strawbridge, John Greig, Sal Algeri and Richard Hughes – from personal liability for the credits and refunds. “Since the appointment of the administrators, they have been logging customer requests for refunds and credits while they work on a solution for affected customers,” he said. “The administrators will be able to provide more certainty on arrangements for those customers in coming days.” He said the administrators hoped to have a solution in place within a week and flight credits issued before the Virgin board appointed administrators on 20 April remained valid. Under insolvency law, the administrators are personally liable for debts they accumulate while in charge of the airline. Separately, they have also asked a court in the US to stop creditors taking action against Virgin there or seizing its aircraft.<br/>