Qantas has criticised Perth Airport for blockading Virgin aircraft according to WAtoday.
A Qantas spokesperson told media, “Even by Perth Airport’s standards, this is extraordinary behaviour. Protecting your interests is one thing but parking a bulldozer in front of an aircraft while saying you’re ‘working to secure an agreement’ is ridiculous. It’s no way to treat a customer of 20 years. This kind of action is deeply worrying for all users of Perth Airport. We have our own dispute with Perth Airport over excessive charges, which has been going through the courts for over a year. As part of that, they refuse to negotiate and pay up on the terminal they have effectively taken back from us, which is valued at well over $150 million. How would they feel if we took the same approach to collections as them?”
7 News has reported that Adelaide Airport has also impounded 7 Virgin aircraft over $10 million worth of fees. Unlike Perth the aircraft aren’t blockaded.
https://twitter.com/7NewsAdelaide/status/1253977991031341056
A Perth Airport spokesperson said the airport had repeatedly tried to seek a solution with Qantas rejecting all offers. “In relation to Terminal 4, we are following an agreed joint independent valuation process. Qantas is fully aware that an independent valuer has been agreed and appointed because they have been involved in the process. We are puzzled by Qantas’s latest comments and the motivations behind them.”
Deloitte has revealed it charged Virgin $200 000 in consulting fees before being appointed as Administrators. A meeting of creditors will either be confirmed as Administrator or replaced. The Guardian says insolvency industry sources say unions and creditors had been sounding out KordaMentha, who were Administrators for Ansett. It is believe KordaMentha and PwC were also on the shortlist of Administrators considered by the Virgin board.
Vaughan Strawbridge, John Greig, Sal Algeri and Richard Hughes from Deloitte have told creditors they would ask the courts to approve to delay the the timing of the second creditors meeting. The delay would allow them to “negotiate with potential purchasers of Virgin. Alternatively, it will give us time to negotiate with stakeholders to recapitalise Virgin, and further time will maximise the chances of Virgin continuing to trade.”
