The corona crisis has claimed the first victim among airlines. The already stricken Flybe must stop operating and file for bankruptcy.
First, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was open to government aid. Even participation was an issue. In the end she didn’t want to and Flybe ran away. The British airline ceased operations on Wednesday evening (4 March). She files for bankruptcy.
The first signs that something was wrong appeared in the hours before. Passengers reported that airport employees had informed them that all flights were canceled on Thursday. A traveler said the pilot said in his announcement that Flybe had to file for bankruptcy. Shortly before midnight, the website of the largest European regional airline went offline.
Money was no longer enough
Flybe has had acute money problems since January. The management therefore negotiated with the government about an emergency loan or participation and a waiver of ticket tax. However, the two parties did not reach a definitive result. Only a deferral of tax payments in the single-digit million range has already been negotiated.
That was not enough. The outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic also caused Flybe’s booking figures to collapse. “It made a bad situation worse,” an insider told the Financial Times newspaper. The airline suddenly had only reserves until the end of the week.
Virgin on board
In a message to the employees, Chief Mark Anderson wrote: “With enormous sadness and great regret, I share the shocking news that Flybe will soon file for bankruptcy”. Despite all efforts, there was no other alternative, one had reached the end. “Our shareholders and management team worked with the government and key suppliers to get the funding and support they needed, but it didn’t,” Anderson said, according to the Devon Live newspaper.
A year ago it looked good for the approximately 2400 employees. A consortium made up of the American finance company Cyrus Capital (40 percent), the British conglomerate Stobart Group (30 percent) and Virgin Atlantic (30 percent), which was also active in the aviation industry, took over Flybe at the time. They invested £ 135m in the airline, which was to become a Virgin feeder. But in January the airline was clammy again.
Fourth bankruptcy in the country
With Flybe, the UK experiences its fourth airline bankruptcy in three years. Monarch ceased operations in October 2017, Fly BMI in February 2019, Thomas Cook Airlines in September 2019.
Bitter is the end of Flybe for some regional airports. The regional airline was responsible for 95 percent of the flights in Southampton, 80 percent in Belfast City, 78 percent in Exeter and 65 percent in Newquay.
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