Virgin Airlines workers plead with Scott Morrison to save their company
Airline employees deliver an emotional plea to the PM to save their company, declaring: ‘Without Virgin, we’re nothing’ | WATCH
Virgin employees have delivered a passionate plea to Scott Morrison to save their company from collapse, with one young air steward declaring: “If we don’t have Virgin Australia, we are nothing.
In an emotional press conference at Sydney airport after the company announced it was entering voluntary administration, tearful cockpit and cabin crew joined with ground staff to beg for Virgin’s survival, likening the airline’s 16,000 staff to family.
Flynn McLean, a Virgin cabin crew member speaking at the Labor organised press conference in the Virgin terminal, said the airline was ”like another mother” to him.
“Like many Australians, we wake up every morning and wait for what our last day might be on earth. So we as cabin crew of Virgin Australia, your safety is in our hands and is our top priority,” he said.
“We wake up because we love our job. Our job is our life. You have your jobs at home. This is our job. If we don’t have Virgin Australia, we are nothing.
“Virgin Australia is something like my other mother. I love it like another mother. It is family to me. Each and every person behind me, and plus another 16,000 more across the globe. Virgin Australia is our family. Without it, it’s like we are losing a family member. You feel the grief of losing a family member, that’s what we will feel if we lose Virgin Australia,” he said.
Scott, a ground crew member who has worked for 16 and a half years for Virgin and previously worked for the now defunct Ansett in the same terminal, pleaded directly with the Prime Minister: “Don’t clip our wings”.
“My name is Scott … I have been in this terminal for 25 and a half years. These people behind me, are not only my mates, they’re my brothers and sisters. Sir, I could not do your job and I don’t envy you, but please let me do mine,” he said.
Ken, a pilot with the airline, said the government had not provided workers with “tangible support” in the midst of the airline’s uncertain future.
“It’s been sad that the federal government hasn’t been able to provide us with tangible support, and we are all hopeful that this process, this voluntary administration process, will see us through the other side.
“These guys behind me, as well as my colleagues in the cockpit, have been providing Australia with fantastic service, fantastic on-time performance, so many other metrics that we have been beating other fellows across the road on. And I really hope to see it through to the other side,” he said.
Kara, another cabin crew member, said: “Virgin Australia has invested so much into thousands of their staff and myself, both professionally and personally. We need two strong, viable airlines to keep the Australian economy going. For those of you watching today, please take a moment to ask yourself what a monopoly in the Australian skies would look like for you. You, the people that we have the absolute privilege of coming to work every day and serving.”
Labor leader Anthony Albanese pleaded for Mr Morrison to “put aside the ideological blinkers” and bail out Virgin, arguing it was government travel closures that led the airline to enter voluntary administration on Tuesday.
“We have to bear in mind that this crisis isn’t a result of market failure, it’s a result of a government decision to shut the market. And that’s why talk of market-based solutions at the moment is a triumph of ideology over common sense,” the Opposition Leader said at the press conference.
“Scott Morrison has said that there isn’t a blue team or a red team. Well, there’s a red team behind me here, they’re wearing the Virgin Australia uniforms proudly. Proudly contributing to our national economy. It’s about time that Scott Morrison put aside the ideological blinkers and gave the support that is required.”
Mr Albanese said he didn’t trust a private buyer of Virgin to fly less profitable routes, saying: “They won’t be interested in flying” to Gladstone, Townsville and other regional centres.
“The concern that we have about letting the market rip on this is that people will be looking at coming in, looking at the profitable sections, the profitable routes, potentially of an airline. “So Sydney-Melbourne, Sydney-Brisbane, consistently in the top 10 in the world. Sydney-to-Melbourne has indeed at various times been first, the most travelled on route in the world.
“They won’t be interested in flying, as I’ve flown on Virgin, into your Gladstones or into Townsville, or into Mackay. They’ll be interested in cherrypicking, people losing their jobs through a restructuring of the company.
“Our concern is that the Australian national interest needs to be served with two full-service airlines. And we know that the sort of build up of the skills of the people behind us is the greatest asset of this airline.”
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