The airline Flybe has ceased trading and all its scheduled flights from George Best Belfast City Airport have been cancelled with immediate effect. Passengers with flights today are being told not to travel to the airport.
Originally based at Exeter, Devon, the airline started up again from Birmingham Airport with Belfast as its second operating base after it was bought out of administration in 2021. The airline first collapsed in 2019 with the loss of 2,000 jobs.
Now the airline has collapsed again. It comes less than a year after new Flybe's first flights out of Birmingham and Belfast in April 2022.
Flybe had made big announcements about returning to the skies last year with 12 routes in total launched from Belfast. The first routes launched were to Birmingham and Glasgow, with Leeds Bradford and London Heathrow added later in the month.
In a statement issued earlier this morning (January 28), The UK Civil Aviation Authority said: "All Flybe-flights have now been cancelled. Please do not go to the airport as flights will not be operating,” the authority said in a statement. “Flybe customers who still need to travel, will need to make their own alternative travel arrangements via other airlines, rail or coach operators.”
READ MORE: The Flybe routes from Belfast suspended over aircraft supply issues
A notice on Flybe's website reads: "On 28 January 2023, the High Court appointed David Pike and Mike Pink as Joint Administrators of Flybe Limited (“Flybe”).
"Flybe has now ceased trading and all flights from and to the UK operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled. If you are a passenger affected by this event, please read the advice below.
"If you are due to fly with Flybe today or in the future, please DO NOT TRAVEL TO THE AIRPORT unless you have arranged an alternative flight with another airline. Please note that Flybe is unfortunately not able to arrange alternative flights for passengers.
"If you have a Flybe booking sold by an intermediary (i.e. not directly with Flybe) that includes travel on a Flybe flight, please contact the relevant airline or booking / travel agent to confirm if there is any impact to your travel plans as the intermediary may be able to support you with alternative arrangements and provide further advice regarding any claim you may need to make.
"Customers are also advised to monitor the Civil Aviation Authority website for further information www.caa.co.uk/news f you require any further information or assistance, please contact the Administrators at: flybecustomers@interpathadvisory.com."
Three early Flybe flights from Belfast, two from Birmingham and two from Amsterdam were all showing as ‘scheduled on time’ on Flybe’s online flight status live tracker at 5am. But the CAA urged ticket-holders to instead check its website for the latest information.
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