Travel Editor
on planes across the UK and Europe. Others were successfully herded onto coaches to continue their journeys.
Passenger Jeff Morton, who works in property, was stuck on a plane for hours at Manchester airport before being told to get off.
He said: “I boarded the 8.40pm at Manchester heading for Southampton. We were actually moving, going for take-off close to the scheduled departure time – but suddenly engines were off and we were called back to the stand.
“At 10.50pm, we are told we were not flying anywhere.
“The captain and crew have been marvellous considering what this event means to them personally.”
Phil Hoult, from Exeter, was also on the runway at Manchester.
He said: “The captain told us we wouldn’t be flying anywhere.
“There was no regard for any passengers. The flight was full, maybe 200 people, and it was very hot. Nobody knew what was
IT’S sad to see another decent airline go under in yet more grim news for the UK travel industry.
Flybe was sunk by a perfect storm of volatile fuel prices, Brexit, an aviation tax double whammy and the current impact of coronavirus on bookings.
More than 2,000 staff at the Exeter-based carrier will lose their jobs, and eight million passengers a year will have to find other means of transport for getting around.
Not everyone needs to travel to or via London and Flybe offered an alternative for trips across the UK and Europe for going to happen.” One passenger stranded at Glasgow airport said: “Wish I’d known before I tried to get home from Glasgow.
“The flight was announced as delayed until 8pm, then all the gate staff disappeared. They announced it was cancelled and said that no Flybe staff were available.”
David Manners, of Lyme Regis in Dorset, was “absolutely gutted” when he arrived at Exeter airport passengers in the regions. Its loss will be keenly felt in Manchester, Southampton, Birmingham, Northern Ireland, Scotland and in its south-west home. For the smaller airports, where it was the chief airline, it spells bleak times ahead.
There will of course be industry sympathy at another to find his Flybe flight to Paris had been cancelled.
Staff facing redundancy were left in tears and blamed bosses.
One employee, who had worked for the company for 16 years, said: “The people made Flybe. On the frontline we were lions – but lions led by donkeys.”
Even the operator’s pilots were critical of how it had been run. Captain Ben Wing heard nothing
carrier going bust, but business is business.
Once the Covid-19 aviation downturn is over, I would expect other airlines to cherry-pick the best Flybe staff and its prime landing and take-off slots at major airports (unfortunately, those smaller airports may not be so lucky).
So what went wrong? Coronavirus is seeing airlines cut routes as bookings slump, and it is entirely possible that only the carriers with deep pockets will survive.
Flybe had been struggling for years but this pernicious virus from the airline about its collapse after piloting one of the company’s last flights from Belfast.
He added: “It has been years and years of bad management and issues. The current guys that have come in have tried to do their best but too much had gone before.”
Mark Anderson, Flybe chief executive, told of his “enormous sadness” in an email to staff, in which he said Ernst & Young is
was the final nail in the coffin. Brexit and fluctuating oil prices contributed too. If you have a business in a competitive market running on fine margins, then it was going to be tough to cope with the weaker pound after the EU referendum.
Also, Air Passenger Duty was a factor with the £13-per-person charge imposed on flights leaving UK airports, meaning Flybe’s domestic routes suffered a double hit. It’s a real pity it’s gone. I always enjoyed a Flybe flight – punctual, good value, friendly staff and some handy destinations. expected to be administrators. He claimed coronavirus had put “pressure on a difficult situation” and said he appreciated how “distressing this news is and the shock and numbness” staff will be feeling.
Mr Anderson wrote: “Despite every effort, we now have no alternative, having failed to find a feasible solution to allow us to keep trading. I am very sorry that we have not been able to secure the funding needed to continue to deliver our turnaround.”
Crisis
Crisis talks had been held throughout Wednesday but no rescue package was found.
Flybe, founded in 1979, carried some eight million passengers a year between 71 airports.
When Monarch Airlines went bust in October 2017, the Government spent £60million hiring planes to get passengers home while bringing back Thomas Cook passengers was estimated to have cost even more.