BUYME SAYS FLYBE

Budget airline Flybe has put itself up for sale – raising fears for its future.

The Exeter-based carrier, which employs 2,300 staff, has struggled to grow passenger numbers and has been hit with soaring costs.

Flybe said it had begun a “strategic review” which included a possible sale.

But it warned “there can be no certainty that an offer will be made”.

A sale is among a number of options. It came as Flybe announced half-year profits had plunged 54% to £7.4million.

The Stobart Group, which walked away from a bid for Flybe in March, has reportedly come back into the frame.

Flybe has 78 planes operating from smaller airports including London City, Southampton and Norwich, and flies to destinations across the UK and Europe. It carries around eight million passengers a year.

Brian Strutton, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots’ Association, said Flybe was “a sound airline”. Garry Graham, deputy general secretary of engineers’ union Prospect, said: “This is more uncertainty for Flybe staff.”