Virgin Australia has dismissed reports that it will shut down budget carrier Tigerair - which hasn't made a profit since 2016.
The chatter surrounding the loss-making airline has grown over the past few weeks and were seemingly fuelled by Virgin Australia chief executive officer Paul Scurrah.
Last month, Scurrah, who took over from John Borghetti as Virgin’s chief executive in March, announced cutbacks to both its Virgin and Tigerair routes and a reduction in its fleet - as it deals with a $349 million full-year loss.
The claims surrounding a sale of Tigerair have been dismissed in a statement by Virgin Australia, which said: "Virgin Australia has no intention of shutting its budget carrier, Tigerair, and any suggestion is completely inaccurate and uninformed.
"Tigerair will continue to play a very important role as the budget carrier for the Virgin Australia Group now and into the future."
Last year Tigerair made a loss of $45 million.