Virgin Atlantic to quit Australia as European exodus continues

VIRGIN Atlantic will pull out of Australia in May, leaving the future of almost 50 local staff "uncertain".

Virgin Atlantic will bid goodbye to Australia in May. Picture: Supplied

ALMOST 50 Virgin Atlantic staff based in Sydney face an uncertain future after the airline today announced plans to pull out of Australia in May.

A Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman said the airline had about 47 Australian staff, who are employed in positions ranging from sales and marketing to customer service and engineering, and that their situation was uncertain.

The fate of the airline's check-in staff, all of whom are employed as contractors, is also unknown.

The British carrier has operated daily flights from London Heathrow to Sydney via Hong Kong, but said its final service will now depart Australia on May 5.

"Despite the best efforts of our employees, external factors such as increasing costs and a weakening Australian dollar have affected our profitability," chief executive Craig Kreeger said.

"These are still difficult times for the airline industry and as part of our strategy to operate more efficiently, we need to deploy our aircraft to routes with the right level of demand to be financially viable."

Along with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic has been one of just two European airlines to continue to offer services to Australia in the face of competition from the giant Asian carriers.

It has also served as part of Virgin Australia's international network, but a spokesman for the Australian airline said it had "no plans at this stage" to operate the axed services itself.

Any passengers travelling after May 5 who are concerned about their travel arrangements should contact Virgin Atlantic or their travel agents to discuss alternate options, the airline said.

The airline would work with its codeshare partners over coming days to make alternative arrangements, a spokeswoman said