Flybe: Regional airline suspends operations and cancels all flights

After declaring bankruptcy, the airline Flybe has canceled all flights to and from the United Kingdom.

According to a statement on the airline’s website, it has “ceased trading” and has advised any passengers planning to travel with it not to go to the airport.

It also stated that it would be unable to assist passengers in arranging alternative flights.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) stated that it would provide affected passengers with advice and information.

Administrators have taken over the company, which was only relaunched last April.

Passengers are irritated as the airline cancels all flights.
Cornwall flight cancellations are a “surprise.”
It announced its intention to cease trading in March 2020, citing the coronavirus pandemic as a contributing factor.

Thyme Opco, a firm affiliated with US hedge fund Cyrus Capital, purchased the company and renamed it Flybe Limited.

The airline plans to resume operations in April 2022, with up to 530 flights per week across 23 routes.

Until its recent demise, Flybe operated 21 routes from Belfast City, Birmingham, and Heathrow to airports throughout the United Kingdom, as well as Amsterdam and Geneva.

The High Court appointed joint administrators for Flybe Limited, according to a statement posted on the Flybe website early Saturday.

“Flybe has now ceased trading, and all Flybe flights from and to the UK have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled,” the statement said.

“If you are scheduled to fly with Flybe today or in the future, please do not travel to the airport unless you have arranged an alternate flight with another airline.”

It went on to say that anyone who booked a flight with the airline through an intermediary should contact the intermediary directly.

Chris Donnelly, who was scheduled to fly from Belfast City to Heathrow at 07:25 GMT, was one of the passengers scheduled to board a Flybe flight this morning.

At 03:07, he received an email from Flybe informing him that his flight had been canceled and that the company had gone into administration, advising passengers not to go to the airport.

Mr. Donnelly, a school principal and political commentator, saw the email while driving to the airport.

Chris Donnelly was on his way to the airport when he received an email informing him that his Flybe flight had been canceled.
He was able to book an alternate flight from Belfast to Gatwick, but it was inconvenient to do so at such short notice.

He also mentioned that he had booked £50 train tickets from Heathrow to central London, which were now useless to him.

Matthew Hall, chief executive of Belfast City Airport, which has the highest number of Flybe staff in the UK, with 138 employees, said his thoughts were “with Flybe employees and passengers”.

He stated that anyone booked on Flybe flights should not arrive at the airport, and that eight of its ten Flybe routes were covered by other providers.

‘How do they make money?’
The airline also operated routes from Newquay to London Gatwick and Manchester.

Cornwall Council’s economy leader, Louis Gardner, said the news was a “real shock” and that efforts would be made to find other providers for the routes.

“Every time I’ve flown, I’ve always thought: ‘How are they making a profit?’ because the planes have never been more than 50% full,” said Seamus McCoy, who used Flybe to travel between Newquay and London on a regular basis.

“It is always sad to see an airline enter administration, and we know that Flybe’s decision to cease trading will be distressing for all of its employees and customers,” said CAA consumer director Paul Smith.

“For the most up-to-date information, Flybe customers should visit the Civil Aviation Authority’s website or our Twitter feed.”

The government stated that its “immediate priority” would be to assist anyone attempting to return home as well as Flybe employees who have lost their jobs.

“This remains a challenging environment for airlines, both old and new, as they recover from the pandemic,” Flybe said.

It stated that the majority of Flybe’s UK destinations were accessible via alternative modes of transportation.

According to the Independent’s travel correspondent Simon Calder, customers should “almost certainly” get their money back from their card issuer or travel agent.

“Of course, finding alternative flights is going to be a problem, and they’re going to be more expensive than the ones they originally bought with Flybe,” he said on BBC Radio 4’s Today.

While there had been a recent surge in demand for air travel, he said Flybe had “fairly thin pickings” of travel routes when it reopened and had struggled with passenger loads on its flights.