Flybe fate sealed by virus take-off

■ SO, another 2,000 jobs have been lost with the collapse of airline Flybe, plus those from the potential closure of a number of regional airports. This is where the Prime Minister must truly deliver on his promise to make the country great again after Brexit.

He must order the Chancellor in this week’s Budget to pillage the coffers further in order to plug the gap caused by the collapse of the airline and, in turn, help to find jobs for all those workers.

But Mr Sunak must be warned not to tax the working class any further – we have more than paid our dues. Hit the rich and the tax-avoiding companies instead – there must be trillions out there. Ashley Smith, March, Cambs

■ It appears the drop in passengers due to the coronavirus was the final nail in the coffin for the struggling airline Flybe. This is going to have a massive impact on parts of the country that rely on the airline to connect to the rest of the UK, especially when so much of our rail network, particularly in the North, is in urgent need of an upgrade. And what will become of those employees now out of a job? It will be interesting to see what the Government proposes but I’m not holding out much hope. Chris Daley, Southampton

■ This is grim news for the 2,000 Flybe staff who were only offered a reprieve from redundancy weeks ago. And it’s not just the flight and cabin crew who are facing the axe, it’s thousands of employees at regional airports around the country. Finding new jobs in the present climate won’t be easy, especially with the coronavirus outbreak expected to hit businesses hard.

The Government should have stepped in sooner and agreed a subsidy to help cover the airline’s operating costs as it provided a vital service connecting the regions. Malcolm Brooks, Notts

■ It beggars belief that hundreds of passengers were left stranded by the collapse of Flybe and 2,000 staff have lost their jobs. Another airline gone bust and coronavirus has not helped the situation either. It seems that now is not the time to be booking holidays with this deadly virus spreading rapidly.

M Dhanda, Coventry

■ The big problem with small regional carriers like Flybe is that they are effectively business airlines which should be charging much higher fares but are trying to compete with low-cost airlines on price. There is just no business model on those terms – a plane with 100 seats half-full can’t make money at £60 a seat.

Darren Sharp

Buckhurst Hill, Essex

■ The coronavirus outbreak isn’t the main reason for Flybe’s demise – it wasn’t a viable business anyway. It was being propped up by the Government so that the directors and investors didn’t lose money. The worst kind of intervention. Andrew Burgess, Sheffield

■ I think Flybe could be the first of many businesses to go under because of this epidemic. Concerts, sporting events and festivals are all under threat putting the jobs of thousands at risk. We just have to hope it’s not as bad as predicted. Susan Miles, South London