Flights cancelled as UK airline Flybe collapses

Europe’s largest regional airline Flybe has collapsed Thursday with all its flights grounded. Hours earlier, local media reported that the airline could collapse following its failure to secure a £100 million (€115 million) state loan.
“All flights have been grounded and the UK business has ceased trading with immediate effect”, the carrier said on its website.
Last year, Flybe was bought by a consortium of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital, after running into earlier financial problems. It narrowly avoided going bust in January after being granted a tax holiday by the UK government, but continued to lose money since then. Sources told the media that a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus “made a difficult situation worse”.
On Wednesday, crisis talks were held, aiming to secure a rescue package, but no deal was reached. The company has some 2,000 employees. The Civil Aviation Authority said that all Flybe flights and those operated by sister airline Stobart Air have been cancelled.
Mark Anderson, Flybe’s CEO, said in a statement that the company had made every possible attempt to avoid collapse but had been unable to overcome significant funding challenges.
Last year, rival companies complained to the EU that Flybe was receiving unfair state aid. The UK government defended the decision, saying the company’s domestic services and regional economic reliance on them are of great importance. However, last September, the British holiday giant Thomas Cook, collapsed without government assistance, resulting in the loss of 22,000 jobs worldwide.
“I thank all our partners and the communities we have been privileged to serve. Above all I would like to thank the Flybe team for their incredible commitment and dedication”, Anderson said.