Virgin Australia has become the world’s largest airline to seek bankruptcy protection in the weeks since the coronavirus shutdown created a debt crisis. Virgin Australia owed 5 billion Australian dollars ($3.2 billion) and hadn’t posted a profit in seven years when the pandemic virtually grounded the aviation industry. Singapore Institute of Technology economist Volodymyr Bilotkach, author of “Economics of Airlines,” says small-to-medium European airlines with small cash reserves are similarly vulnerable.
