Plane spotters were confused after seeing a FlyBe plane "sneak" from Leeds Bradford Airport recently.
On Tuesday, March 15, the company's logo was spotted on a plane taking off from the airport's runway behind Yeadon Tarn. A number of onlookers watched it travelling behind the trees before being spotted in the air.
It came as a surprise after the company went into liquidation last year. During lockdown of 2020, the company filed for administration and ceased all operations. Like many businesses, the airline had been struggling for several months from the impact of bookings during the pandemic, and 2,400 jobs were lost.
But this week, the company announced it will be making a comeback. The collapsed airline will return to the skies next month and flights will resume from Leeds Bradford Airport.
The regional carrier will operate up to 530 flights per week across 23 routes, serving airports such as Belfast City, Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow, Heathrow and Leeds Bradford.
Its saving grace came when the business and assets were purchased in April 2021 by Thyme Opco, which is linked to US hedge fund Cyrus Capital. Thyme Opco was renamed Flybe Limited. The airline will be based at Birmingham Airport.
But after plane spotters had already seen the FlyBe logo up in the air they were left confused about its comeback date. One individual said, "I thought they went under from Covid. I assumed when I saw the plane that someone had bought the company." While another added they added they had "seen one take off earlier and this one take off too".
FlyBe confirmed to Leeds Live that their aircraft have taken off throughout March for training purposes only. However, official flights will commence from April 13.
A representative for FlyBe said: "This would have been a training flight that people saw. Flights will commence from April and a new and improved Flybe will fly up to 530 flights per week across 23 routes with more to be announced in the months ahead.
"Key UK regional routes for the new airline will include Birmingham to Edinburgh, Belfast City to Birmingham, Belfast City to East Midlands, Belfast City to Leeds Bradford, Belfast City to London-Heathrow, Belfast City to Glasgow, Belfast City to Manchester, and Leeds Bradford to London-Heathrow.
"Flybe will also offer international flights from Amsterdam to Belfast City, Birmingham, East Midlands and London-Heathrow in addition to Summer flights from Birmingham to Avignon and Brest, as well as Southampton to Avignon and Toulon."
Flybe CEO, Dave Pflieger, said: “We are delighted to now be out for sale and starting service next month. We think our new flights will benefit everyone who wants low fares and more flights to go on holiday and visit loved ones.
"Our new network will also ensure better regional connectivity inside the UK and between various UK and EU regions.”
