International parties circle Virgin as government resists calls for bailout

As the airline's boss said the carrier was determined to fly again despite going into voluntary administrators on Tuesday, administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said international players were among those circling the company.

"It's quite a wide cross section of parties and, yes, there are international parties that have expressed an interest, but it is wide and it crosses the whole spectrum of potential parties," Mr Strawbridge said.

Virgin Australia Chief Executive Paul Scurrah said the airline would be "aggressively" addressing its balance sheet but it would be back "leaner, stronger and fitter".

As administrators work through the expressions of interest from other parties, the federal government has called in former Macquarie boss Nicholas Moore to represent it in conversations with Virgin Australia's administrators.

The airline officially entered voluntary administration on Tuesday morning, with the government continuing to fight calls for it to provide a bail out of $1.4 billion.

In a statement the company said it had continued to seek support from federal and state governments, but that the required support had not been secured.

"There has been an extraordinary amount of interest in the business and in the restructuring of Virgin Australia," Mr Strawbridge said.

"And so we are confident that this will result in a restructuring being achieved in a short period of time."

There were no plans for redundancies and wages and payments made through the JobKeeper plan would still be paid, Mr Strawbridge said, but when pushed on whether jobs could be lost if a private equity firm took over the company, he said "my primary objective is around creating the best outcome for all stakeholders, and employees are a very important part of that".

Mr Scurrah said the decision to appoint administrators was made to secure a future for Virgin on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis.

"Australia needs a second airline and we are determined to keep flying," he said.

"Virgin Australia will play a vital role in getting the Australian economy back on its feet after the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring the country has access to competitive and high-quality air travel."

Virgin had requested a $1.4 billion loan from the government to help it remain afloat, but Treasurer Josh Frydenberg held firm that it wasn't up to taxpayers to provide the funds.

"The government was not going to bail out five large foreign shareholders with deep pockets who, together, own 90 per cent of this airline," he said.

Scheduled international and domestic flights are set to continue in order to transport essential workers, maintain freight corridors and return Australians to their homes.

Virgin Australia put out a statement saying travel credits with the carrier remain valid and the airline was determined to fly again.

Mr Frydenberg said Mr Moore's role would be talking to administrators Deloitte to ensure Australia retains two domestic airlines but emphasised the government wanted a "market-led solution".

"He'll be working with our team to ensure that the national interest is advanced and he will be having that engagement with the administrator, Deloitte."

Earlier on Tuesday Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said Virgin had already been in financial trouble before coronavirus grounded thousands of flights.

"Of course we would like businesses to continue to perform well during this period, but Virgin faced a series of challenges prior to the coronavirus crisis and this pandemic, with the effects on the economy and in particular on the aviation industry and travel, has brought things to a head," Senator Cormann said on ABC News Breakfast.

"The Government is not in the business of owning an airline, but we do want to see two airlines continue and we believe that the opportunity is there out of the administration process for that to happen."

Virgin's founder Sir Richard Branson wrote to Virgin Australia staff overnight saying he was proud of all they had achieved together.

"In most countries federal governments have stepped in, in this unprecedented crisis for aviation, to help their airlines. Sadly that has not happened in Australia," he said.

Mr Branson assured staff "and our competitor" that he was determined to see the business back up and running.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said Virgin's financial situation wasn't the result of market failure but of a government decision, and the national economy would be affected without a second airline.

"The idea that another airline will just appear overnight is a fantasy," he said.

"And we know the government has already raised the issue of cabotage, that is removing restrictions on domestic airline activity and opening it up to foreign airlines."

Mr Albanese said it would be preferable for the government to take an equity stake in Virgin instead of the company being taken over by a private equity firm.

Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil said if the Morrison government doesn't step in, it will be responsible for the biggest airline collapse in Australia's history.

"It is not too late. Virgin Australia can still be rescued," she said.

"It must keep trading in administration, and then come out of administration with new shareholders that include the federal government."