Two thousand jobs lost after airline falls victim to Coronavirus crisis

UK airline Flybe has fallen into administration, putting 2,000 jobs at risk, after attempts to gain new financial backing failed.

The stricken carrier, which has operated a large proportion of flights from Doncaster Sheffield and Humberside airports, has partly blamed its collapse on the coronavirus outbreak’s impact on demand for air travel.

It is now urging customers to “not travel to the airport” unless they have arranged an alternative flight. All flights operated by Flybe have been cancelled with immediate effect.

Data published by the BBC shows 39.6% of scheduled departures from Humberside Airport in 2019 were Flybe flights. The equivalent figure for Doncaster Sheffield Airport is 29.5%.

Flybe flights to Belfast City Airport from Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled this morning.

Flybe came close to going bust in January.

In a letter to the airline’s staff, chief executive Mark Anderson said: “Despite every effort, we now have no alternative – having failed to find a feasible solution to allow us to keep trading.

“I am very sorry that we have not been able to secure the funding needed to continue to deliver our turnaround.”

Flybe had been pinning its hopes on a £100m lifeline and changes to Air Passenger Duty taxes. The carrier ran into trouble last year and was bought by a consortium which includes Virgin Atlantic.

In January, the new owners said they would inject £30m into the business to keep it going, but turned to the Government for extra support.

Virgin Atlantic said it was “deeply disappointed” after Flybe went into administration. It added that the consortium had invested more than £135m to try and keep the airline operating for another year.

Reacting to the administration, a Government spokesman said: “We recognise the impact this will have on Flybe’s passengers and staff. Government staff will be on hand at all affected UK airports to help passengers.

“The vast majority of Flybe routes are served by different transport options, and we have asked bus and train operators to accept Flybe tickets and other airlines to offer reduced rescue fares to ensure passengers can make their journeys as smoothly as possible.

“We know this will be a worrying time for Flybe staff and our Jobcentre Plus Rapid Response Service stands ready to help them find a new job as soon as possible.

“We are working closely with industry to minimise any disruption to routes operated by Flybe, including by looking urgently at how routes not already covered by other airlines can be re-established by the industry.

“Through the reviews of regional connectivity and Airport Passenger Duty we have announced, we will bring forward recommendations to help ensure that the whole of the UK has the connections in place that people rely on.

“Flybe’s financial difficulties were longstanding and well documented and pre-date the outbreak of COVID-19. We are well prepared a potential outbreak and this week we have set out an action plan with details of our response.”