Flybe grounded placing 2,000 jobs at risk
Flybe, Europe’s biggest regional airline and the largest airline in terms of passenger volumes at Birmingham Airport, has collapsed – blaming coronavirus for its demise.
The firm entered administration at 3am this morning (5 March) and has ceased trading immediately.
The news means that 2,000 jobs are to be axed at the airline after it cited a lack of bookings on the back of the coronavirus pandemic.
EY has been appointed administrator.
A statement on flybe’s website said: “Flybe entered administration on 5 March 2020 and Alan Hudson, Joanne Robinson, Lucy Winterborne and Simon Edel of EY have been appointed as joint administrators.
“All flights have been grounded and the UK business has ceased trading with immediate effect.
“If you are due to fly with flybe, please DO NOT TRAVEL TO THE AIRPORT unless you have arranged an alternative flight with another airline. Please note that flybe is unfortunately not able to arrange alternative flights for passengers.
“If you have a booking sold by another airline that includes travel on a flybe flight, please contact the relevant airline or travel agent to confirm if there is any impact to your travel plans.
“Customers are also advised to monitor the Civil Aviation Authority website for further information.”
A spokesperson for Birmingham Airport said: “It is with regret to receive the news that flybe has collapsed and therefore ceased trading with immediate effect.
“Our priority now is to support passengers who were scheduled to travel from Birmingham over the coming days by providing onsite customer support and information.
“Passengers due to travel with flybe should not to come to the Airport as there will be no more flights with the airline from the UK.
“A number of routes operated by flybe are served by other carriers from Birmingham, and we already have arrangements for two airlines to replace five of its routes in the next few weeks. We will continue to engage with other airlines to replace the remaining capacity for our region and customers.”
Richard Moriarty chief executive at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “This is a sad day for UK aviation and we know that flybe’s decision to stop trading will be very distressing for all of its employees and customers.
“We urge passengers planning to fly with this airline not to go to the airport as all flybe flights are cancelled. For the latest advice, flybe customers should visit the CAA website or the CAA’s Twitter feed for more information.
“Flybe also operated a number of codeshare partnerships with international airlines. If you have an international ticket you should make contact with that airline to confirm your travel arrangements.”
Flybe operated about 75 aircraft and served more than 80 airports across the UK and Europe.
