The group made a pre-tax loss of £28.4 million, compared with a £23 million profit in 2016. The loss comes despite a £15.5 million contribution from Virgin Holidays.
Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Kreeger said: “There were three big external issues that we had to deal with in 2017; the full year impact of a weak sterling relative to the dollar, an industry-wide engine supply issue and severe hurricane disruption in the Caribbean and US.”
The engine issue relate to the reliability of its Boeing 787s, which means that fan blades have to be replaced more frequently than normal, during which aircraft have to be grounded and replacements found.
