More than 270 staff made redundant as Flybe ceases trading

The administrators of Flybe have revealed that 276 employees have now been made redundant.

Some of Flybe’s employees worked remotely and in Belfast and Exeter, but the majority of staff were based in Birmingham.

In total, 133 people were made redundant in Birmingham, with 99 from the airport and 34 from its Birmingham headquarters.

A total of 45 members of the firm’s 320 staff have been retained to assist the joint administrators at Interpath Advisory.

The regional airline entered administration on January 28th after struggling since its relaunch, meaning all scheduled flights were cancelled, impacting around 2,500 passengers on Saturday alone.

David Pike, managing director at Interpath Advisory and Joint Administrator to Flybe said: “We will provide support to those who have been affected by redundancy, including supporting them in making claims from the Redundancy Payments Service, and importantly, we will be helping employees obtain access to important records and information such as training records.”

“This is a real setback in terms of the UK’s regional connectivity at a time when infrastructure and levelling up is high on the agenda,” said Pike.

Flybe operated passenger flights via 21 routes to 17 destinations across the UK and EU, including Belfast City, Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow, Heathrow and Leeds Bradford airports. All flights operated by Flybe will not be rescheduled.

British Airways, Ryanair and easyJet are offering impacted customers special fares to enable them to reach their destination.

Flybe’s head office in Birmingham employed around 170 people as well as 140 people based in Belfast. A small number of people employed at Exeter have also been affected.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has issued advice to passengers as travel is not ATOL protected, due to the airline mostly selling flight only bookings.

Travellers who paid by credit card may be protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and should contact their card issuer.

If the booking was made with a debit card, passengers may be able to claim through the bank’s charge back rules.

Aviation analyst Alex Macheras told Sky News: “This is why it’s always best to book travel with a credit card.

“If a debit card was used, passengers can try claiming from the card provider under the chargeback system, but it’s often a little more difficult and not a legal right compared with the credit card.”

Some card providers will ask for a negative response letter confirming the position. The negative response letter will be published shortly.

Interpath Advisory said that they “intend to preserve scaled-back elements of the operating platform for a short period such that a rescue transaction remains a possibility”.

Flybe was awarded its Air Operating Certificate and Licence to Operate in 2021, with operations starting in April 2022. The company’s ambition was to bring the airline back to full capacity, with a focus on establishing regional connectivity across the UK and partnering with operators with access to Europe and the US.