British airline Flybe, once Europe’s largest independent regional airline, canceled all flights on Saturday after filing for bankruptcy protection for a second time, marking what may be the final chapter for the chronically ailing company.
“We regret to inform you that Flybe has been placed under administration,” the company said in a statement expression on his website in the early hours of Saturday morning. “Flybe has now stopped trading. All Flybe flights to and from the UK will be canceled and not rebooked.”
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the UK Supreme Court has appointed administrators to take over the company, the statement said. The Department for Transport, which oversees aviation policy in the UK, did not react immediately either.
Flybe, which at one point dominated the UK domestic flight market, had only restarted in April 2022 after becoming one of the first major corporate victims of the coronavirus outbreak. Like much of the global airline industry, the airline was hit hard when travel collapsed and it filed for bankruptcy in March 2020 with the loss of 2,400 jobs.
The airline was bailed out last year by Thyme Opco, a company linked to US hedge fund Cyrus Capital.
But sudden news on Saturday that Flybe had closed again left passengers stranded as the airline made it clear it could not arrange alternative flights. Around 2,500 passengers were due to fly with the airline on Saturday and a total of around 75,000 passengers have now been canceled, according to figures confirmed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the country’s civil aviation regulator. The authority published on its website a list of other airlines offering special fares to Flybe customers.
“It is always sad to see an airline go into administration and we know that Flybe’s decision to halt trading will be distressing for all of its employees and customers,” said Paul Smith, the authority’s consumer director, in a expression.
By international standards, Great Britain has comparatively low consumption from domestic commercial flights. In April, the UK government will introduce long-awaited tax cuts for domestic airlines to boost national connectivity. The move, which has been welcomed by industry, is part of the government’s “leveling” agenda – a policy aimed at bridging the gap between England’s economically disadvantaged north and its more affluent south.
But the announcement of the 2021 tax cut, just days before the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, was criticized at the time by environmental groups. Some are now calls on the UK to enact a nationwide ban on short-haul flights similar to one imposed by France last year. In April, France became the first country to ban flights between cities connected by a train journey of less than 2.5 hours.
Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attracted criticism by political rivals for its use of domestic flights to travel across the country. “I travel to be as effective as possible for you all,” Mr Sunak replied while addressing a local audience in North West England.
