Britain’s biggest regional airline, Flybe has reportedly been locked in crisis talks to prevent the airline going into administration.
According to Sky News, The government has allegedly been warned of the possibility that 2,000 employees could lose their jobs if the airline collapses.
One source told Sky News on Sunday night that the Department for Transport and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been looking into whether the government could provide emergency funds.
With the future of the airline up in the air, how will this affect ticket-holders?
Speaking to Express.co.uk, the airline said it is committed to continuing operations as normal.
“Flybe continues to provide great service and connectivity for our customers while ensuring they can continue to travel as planned. We don’t comment on rumors or speculation,” a spokesperson said.
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“We remain fully committed to Exeter, Cardiff and Doncaster airports and will continue to offer a comprehensive choice of regional and European destinations operated by our 78-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft.”
The airline, while it cancelled the jet aircraft from the four hubs, continued flying the Q400 versions.
Flybe began in 1979 as Jersey European Airways. In 2000, the airline changed its name to British European and then to Flybe two years later.
The airline is based in Exeter and handles more than half of the UK’s domestic flights outside of London and European cities such as Paris, Amsterdam and Dusseldorf.
In 2018, Flybe put itself up for sale and was purchased in March 2019 by a consortium comprising Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and a US hedge fund, Cyrus Capital. The trio bought Flybe for £2.8m.
The uncertain future of Flybe follows the collapse of Thomas Cook in September 2019.
There was a loss of 9,000 jobs in the UK, including workers for Thomas Cook Airlines and more than 159,000 British holidaymakers were reportedly stranded abroad.
The loss of Thomas Cook signalled a shift in the travel sector, putting its future into question.
Rick Smith, Founder and Director at Forbes Burton, a company rescue and insolvency specialist, spoke to Express.co.uk about what the collapse of Thomas Cook meant to the industry.
Mr Smith said: “It may seem obvious, but several strands of traditional businesses have come to experience problems that travel giant Thomas Cook is currently facing.
“We’ve seen the same trends occurring in retail for several years and we envisage that this is sadly the first of potentially many companies that might experience trouble.
“As consumers’ tastes change, so must business and it seems Thomas Cook has become almost too complacent on its reputation and perhaps innovation and modernisation is something that needs to be assessed here.
“It seems that Brexit and how people have been booking their holidays have had the biggest impact, which is of no surprise, given the rise of cheap flights and a trend away from the package holiday.”
