The NSW and Queensland governments have entered a bidding war to save – and claim – the embattled Virgin Australia airline, which has now entered voluntary administration.

Administrators will streamline the company before selling it off, with another airline reportedly considering overtaking Virgin.

Queensland offered Virgin $200 million to remain headquartered in Brisbane, and the state’s Development Minister Cameron Dick characterised the Nancy Bird Walton airport, due to open in Western Sydney in 2026, as a ‘peashooter’ to Brisbane’s ‘bazooka’.

Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres dismissed the claim NSW is “making a play” for the airline.

“This isn’t about having a fight with Queensland,” he told Ben Fordham, insisting the NSW government is concerned only with ensuring the airline’s survival and protecting jobs.

When asked if Virgin would be better off based at the Western Sydney airport, Mr Ayres responded by suggesting the question would be better asked of the “future management” of the airline.

“I think it’s fair to say that the current investors in Virgin probably won’t be the investors in Virgin at the other side of this.

“We’re just saying we’re here, and we’re ready.”

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Queensland’s Development Minister Cameron Dick told Ben Fordham he’ll do ‘everything he can’ to prevent Virgin from moving across the northern border.

“The number one thing I’m trying to do is fight hard for Queensland jobs – the 5000 Virgin workers who work in Queensland, and in particular the 1200 jobs in the head office.”

Mr Dick described the carrier’s financial situation as like ‘trying to land in a cyclone’, and said the government has a Plan B should the worst happen.

“Anything is possible now; the airline is in great distress.”

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Image: Getty