Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, United Kingdom. The airline was established in 1984 as "British Atlantic Airways", and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company after disagreements with Sir Richard Branson over the management of the company. The maiden flight from Gatwick Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport took place
Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport resumed service between Ithaca and Newark Liberty International Airport with four daily flights. In 2011, the airport served 242,493 passengers on three airlines. In 2009 Regional Elite Airline Services took over ground handling duties from Mesaba Airlines for the Delta Connection flights to Detroit. As of November 2012, all ground handling for Delta and United Airlines will be by DAL Global Services. Starting on March 24, 2012, US Airways Express ended all service between Ithaca and New York–LaGuardia as part of a slot-exchange deal with Delta. The 2013 Federal sequester did not result in the closure of the airport's control