Crisis talks as Flybe faces collapse...again

Monday 13 January 2020

Flybe is once again on the brink of collapse, despite signing a rescue deal with Virgin Atlantic-led investor group less than a year ago.

The airline, which provides routes to Southampton, London Heathrow and Birmingham among others, reportedly entered emergency crisis talks last night in a bid to secure government funding amid mounting losses.

Sky News reported that the UK government had been briefed on the crisis, and that the Department for Transport and Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was now assessing whether it can help the airline avoid collapse and the potential loss of 2,000 jobs.

Meanwhile, accountancy firm EY is claimed to have been put on "stand-by" in case the group enters administration.

Pictured: Flybe was due to rebrand as Virgin Connect following the takeover.

After hitting turbulence in 2018, Flybe completed a sale of its assets worth £2.8m to Connect Airways - a consortium led by Richard Branson's airline Virgin, alongside Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital - in February last year.

As part of the deal, the consortium was due to plough £100m into the airline, which was due to be revived under the brand 'Virgin Connect'.

It has now been suggested, however, that the consortium's requirements were too demanding for the airline, leaving it vulnerable to collapse.

Pictured: Islanders may soon be saying farewell to the Heathrow route re-established last year, should Flybe collapse. 

In a tweet yesterday, Flybe said declined to comment on rumours or speculation. 

"Flybe continues to focus on providing great service and connectivity for our customers, to ensure that they can continue to travel as planned. We don’t comment on rumour or speculation."

A new post was then made just 15 minutes later, slightly altering the wording of that initial tweet. 

Flybe continues to provide great service and connectivity for our customers while ensuring they can continue to travel as planned. We don’t comment on rumour or speculation.

— Flybe ✈ (@flybe) 12 January 2020

Many people commenting on that post were unconvinced, recalling that just a few months ago, Thomas Cook's social media pages were acting as though it would be business as normal right up until that company's collapse. 

The news leaves questions for local flight operator Blue Islands, which operates a franchise deal with Flybe.

Express has contacted Blue Islands for comment, and is awaiting a response.