British airline Flybe, once the largest independent regional airline in Europe, canceled all flights on Saturday after filing for bankruptcy protection for the second time, marking its final chapter for the company in chronic trouble.
“We regret to announce that Flybe has been put into administration,” the company said in a statement. declare on its website in the early hours of Saturday morning. “Flybe has now stopped trading. All Flybe flights from and to the UK have been canceled and will not be rescheduled.”
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but administrators have been appointed by Britain’s Supreme Court to take over the company, the statement said. The Department for Transport, the UK aviation policy watchdog, also did not immediately respond.
Flybe, once dominating the UK domestic flight market, only restarted in April 2022 after becoming one of the first companies to suffer major losses due to the coronavirus outbreak- withdraw corona. Like much of the global airline industry, the airline was hit hard when travel activity plummeted and filed for bankruptcy in March 2020 with 2,400 jobs lost.
The airline was rescued last year by Thyme Opco, a company affiliated with US hedge fund Cyrus Capital.
But Saturday’s unexpected news that Flybe had folded left passengers stranded, as the airline made it clear it would not be able to arrange alternative flights. Some 2,500 passengers were scheduled to fly with the airline on Saturday and a total of around 75,000 passengers have now had their flights cancelled, according to figures confirmed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the airline’s regulator. non-civilian of this country. authorization Posted on my website list of other airlines offering special fares to Flybe customers.
Paul Smith, the agency’s chief consumer officer, said: “It is sad to see an airline enter the regulatory body and we know that Flybe’s decision to cease business will affect all of its employees and customers. they suffer. declare.
By international standards, Britain has relatively low usage of domestic commercial flights. In April, the British government is set to introduce long-awaited tax cuts for domestic airlines to improve national connectivity. The move, welcomed by industry, is part of the government’s “level up” agenda – a policy that seeks to level the disparity between the economically troubled North and the West. South is more prosperous.
But announcing tax cuts in 2021, just days before the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, was criticized at the time by environmental groups. some now Calls on the UK to introduce a nationwide ban on short-haul flights similar to the one that France imposed last year. In April, France became the first country to ban flights between cities connected by a train under 2.5 hours.
Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also draw criticism from political opponents for using domestic flights to travel around the country. “I travel to be as productive as possible on your behalf,” replied Mr Sunak while speaking to a local audience in the north-west of England.
