Virgin Australia’s budget carrier Tigerair closes down amid COVID fallout

Virgin Australia’s budget airline Tigerair has become the latest travel brand to hit the wall as COVID lockdowns grind down the tourism industry.

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Australian budget airline Tigerair has closed down after 13 years of service, the latest victim of COVID lockdowns which have ravaged the economy.

“There is no denying these are tough times for everyone in the travel and tourism industry. And sadly, after nearly 13 years of operation we have made the difficult decision to discontinue the Tigerair Australia brand,” Tigerair said in a statement.

“Since our very first flight [in 2007], we’ve provided affordable air travel across Australia, and through the commitment of our people, past and present, created a family of 1.2 million along the way.

“Thank you and farewell from Tigerair Australia.”

Tigerair Australia made its maiden flight on 23 November 2007 from Melbourne to the Gold Coast. It has since carried 30 million passengers.

Planes from Tigerair and Virgin sit idle at Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport. Picture: AFP

Customers who had bought tickets for Tigerair flights will be able to use travel credit for flights operated by Virgin Australia.

Governments have pumped $130 billion into keeping airlines afloat, but many have already collapsed.

It is likely that many more flight brands will also fail – making the future of cheap overseas travel very uncertain for Australians in the medium term.

Virgin Australia’s new owner Bain Capital signalled last month that the Tigerair Australia brand would be consigned to the scrap heap.

Empty airports are the new normal in Australia. Picture: David Caird

Virgin will, however, keep Tigerair’s operator certificate so it can possibly start up a new low-cost carrier when the domestic holiday travel market recovers.

Paul Scurrah, Virgin Australia chief executive, had said previously that Tigerair would have to shrink to survive the pandemic.

He estimated it could take more than three years for demand domestic and short-haul international flights to return to previous levels.

Virgin Australia CEO & Managing Director, Paul Scurrah. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

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Tigerair closed five domestic routes in February after Virgin revealed it had lost almost $100 million during the previous six months.

Tigerair cut its fleet by a third.

Mr Scurrah said cancelling the services was not an easy decision, but it had to be done to keep the business profitable.

Originally published as Virgin Australia’s budget carrier Tigerair closes down amid COVID fallout