Turmoil as Flybmi collapses

THOUSANDS of passengers were left stranded and more than 300 jobs put in jeopardy after Flybmi grounded its planes and went into administration yesterday.

The East Midlands-based airline recalled its craft to Britain, while frustrated passengers seeking half-term getaways told of going through airport security before learning their plane wouldn’t fly.

Flybmi, which employs 376 staff in the UK, Germany, Sweden and Belgium, gave several reasons for its collapse.

It cited uncertainty on whether it will be allowed to fly between European destinations after Brexit, high fuel and emissions costs, plus increasingly stiff competition.

It carried 522,000 passengers on 29,000 flights last year and operated 17 regional jets on routes to 25 European cities from hubs in Aberdeen, Bristol, City of Derry, East Midlands,

CANCELLED: Thousands of passengers were stranded when the airline failed yesterday

Stansted, and Newcastle. A spokesman said: “The airline faced several difficulties, including spikes in fuel and carbon costs.

“Current trading and future prospects have also been seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process, which has led to our inability to secure valuable flying contracts and lack of confidence around bmi’s ability to continue flying between destinations in Europe.”

A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “We are working hard to give business certainty by getting legally binding changes to the backstop that can command the support of Parliament and ensure we leave on March 29.”

Affected passengers have been urged to contact their travel agents or insurance and credit card companies.