UK’s Flybmi ceases flights with 376 job losses

 

Flybmi has gone into administration, blaming high fuel prices and uncertainty over Brexit.

Passengers are being told not to come to the airport unless they have rebooked flights with alternative providers as all Flybmi flights are cancelled with immediate effect from Saturday.

376 people based in UK, Germany, Sweden and Belgium worked for the airline and their jobs are now at risk.

Flybmi had carried 522, 000 passengers on 29,000 flights, throwing the plans for thousands of holidaymakers into disarray.

“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 in Europe and lack of confidence around bmi’s ability to continue flying between destinations in Europe. Against this background it has become impossible of funding into the business despite investment totalling over £40m in the last six years.”

UK airports served by Flybmi flights included London Stanstead, Aberdeen, Bristol and Newcastle – while international destinations included Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Milan Bergamo, Oslo, Stavanger and `Paris Charles de Gaulle.

City of Derry airport in Northern Ireland has been hard hit by Flybmi’s collapse as it has lost its only connection to London Stanstead.

Flybmi was born out of the demise of British Midland and the regional airlines had been struggling ever since British Airways snapped up its slots at London’s Heathrow Airport.