Flybe goes into administration after coronavirus struggle
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UK airline Flybe has collapsed after months of talks with the government failed to secure a crucial £100m loan and the deadly coronavirus slashed demand.
One of Britain’s largest airlines, Flybe entered administration just after 3am on Thursday, with all flights grounded and the business having ceased trading “with immediate effect”..
Flybe confirmed it had entered administration after holding last-ditch talks with the UK government on Wednesday afternoon, a move that puts more than 2,000 jobs at risk and raises uncertainty over scores of regional air routes within the UK.
“All flights operated by Flybe have been cancelled with immediate effect,” the airline said in a statement. “Europe’s largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business,” the statement said. “This has been compounded by the outbreak of coronavirus which in the last few days has resulted in a significant impact on demand.”
Accountancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) has been appointed as administrators to the airline that carried about eight million passengers a year between 56 airports in the UK and Europe over 40 years, under various guises.
