FlyBe goes into administration: Customers given advice by North East airports

FlyBe went into administration in the early hours of today.

The carrier narrowly avoided going bust in January but continued to lose money, with administrators announcing in the early hours of today, Thursday, March 5, it had ceased trading with immediate effect.

A drop in demand caused by the coronavirus "made a difficult situation worse" for the firm.

Crisis talks were held throughout yesterday, but no deal was agreed.

All Flybe flights and those operated by sister airline Stobart Air have been cancelled, the Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

Newcastle International Airport has shared the advice issued by the authority and told passengers not to arrive at the airport.

Among those who will lose out will be Newcatle United fans who planned to use the route to reach Southampton for Saturday’s game.

Teesside International Airport has said its services are running as normal – a series of flights have been operated by FlyBe franchise partner Eastern Airways and will continue.

LNER tweeted to say it will offer free standard travel to help people return home following the collapse, adding: "To travel with us, please show your Flybe staff ID or booking confirmation on any of our services today.”

Flybe was bought by a consortium of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital in February 2019, after running into earlier financial problems.

In a statement, chief executive Mark Anderson said the company had made "every possible attempt" to avoid collapse but had been "unable to overcome significant funding challenges".

"The UK has lost one of its greatest regional assets," Mr Anderson said as he thanked the team for their “commitment and dedication.”

The company said all Flybe flights were immediately grounded and advised all passengers not to travel to airports unless alternative flight arrangements had been made.

Unions and politicians have reacted angrily over the collapse of Flybe - which had a staff of around 2,000 - just weeks after the company narrowly avoided going under.

UK Civil Aviation Authority for the latest advice, Flybe customers should visit the CAA website or the CAA's Twitter feed for more information.