On Friday, American official regulators ruled that the budget airline Virgin American has managed to meet all citizenship requirements to operate an American carrier.

After a restructuring and allegations from other airlines that Virgin has breached a law which requires it to be 75% owned and controlled by a US citizen, the Department of Transportation had been assessing the carrier's ownership.

Virgin, on the other hand, had strongly maintained that it has met all regulations and requirements, and was hoping for a decision by the end of 2009.

On Friday, the DOT said that the airline had agreed to "make a number of changes to ensure that the air carrier would remain under the ownership and actual control of U. S. citizens", in addition to providing assurances that it would seek American investment and add a US citizen to its board of directors.

Virgin America is now expected to report a profit for the first time this year.