Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Airport denies ‘bust’ claims in wake of Flybe bailout
Hub ‘would survive’ without carrier
BELFAST City Airport has insisted it will work with airlines to ensure they remain “profitable” after it was claimed the hub might have gone under if Flybe had gone bust.
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood suggested George Best and Southampton airports could be candidates for closure if the regional service collapses.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions? he said: “If Southampton airport were to close because Flybe went bust, or indeed Belfast City, these are changes which are very difficult to reverse.” The hubs have the highest proportion of Flybe operations in the UK. At Southampton, 93% of flights are provided by the carrier, while at Belfast City the figure is 81%.
Flybe was thrown a lifeline by the Government last week when they agreed to give them a tax “holiday” to defer payment of £10million in air passenger duty collected from customers. The flight tax is widely expected to be cut in the March Budget.
Mr Ellwood, who is MP for Bournemouth East, defended the Government’s decision.
He said: “What we didn’t want is a sudden breakdown of the country coming to a standstill and then having to recuperate – which will take months, possibly with the closure of regional airports.
“That would be very, very damaging.”
A spokesperson for Belfast City Airport said: “We continuously work with airlines, new and existing, to ensure our route network meets the needs of passengers and that our business remains a profitable one.” A spokesman for Southampton denied the airport would close without Flybe.