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Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group has accused the US Government of "pure protectionism" for denying permission for the launch of its planned low-cost airline, Virgin America.
The airline has been forced to consider ways to revise its financial structure to ensure it meets US Department of Transport (DoT) rules which bar foreign-controlled carriers from domestic routes.
The UK-based Virgin Group reiterated that it owns just 25 per cent of the wannabe airline, and reacted angrily to the DoT's claims that its influence extends much further.
"What the DoT has done is purely political, pure protectionism. They have been heavily lobbied by the legacy airlines in the US, who want to delay the launch or make sure this airline doesn't fly," said Will Whitehorn, head of corporate affairs at Virgin. "We can't believe the decision, and there is no justification for it. We have aircraft on the ground, we have our safety certificate, only 25 per cent is owned outside the US, the company is run by Americans, its chairman is American, its chief executive is American."
The DoT said it was rejecting Virgin America's application after "an extensive review of Virgin's heavily contested submissions", because the close relationship between the airline and the Virgin Group meant it was not under the control of US citizens.
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