Balpa said it was time to improve the regulatory framework around aviation to avoid "such sudden and precipitous events in the future" after Flybe collapsed on Saturday (28 January) for the second time in just three years, resulting in the loss of 276 jobs. Several airlines have already said they have a wide range of opportunities open to ex-Flybe staff, who may now be looking for new roles.

Administrators David Pike and Mike Pink from Interpath Advisory confirmed the redundancies on Saturday just a few hours after it was revealed that the airline had ceased trading and cancelled all flights. A total of 45 members of Flybe staff have been retailed to assist the joint administrators.

“We will provide support to those who have been affected by redundancy, including supporting them in making claims from the Redundancy Payments Service," they said. "And importantly, we will be helping employees obtain access to important records and information such as training records."

’New regulatory framework needed’

Balpa said the sudden demise of Flybe would have "terrible effects" on the airline’s staff, its customers and the reputation of UK civil aviation. "The sudden collapse of airlines in this way is hugely damaging for all involved," said the union.

Flybe was rescued from the brink of failure by the Virgin Atlantic-led Connect Airways consortium in February 2019, with Virgin planning to rebrand it Virgin Connect and use it as a feeder airline for its long-haul network, something it attempted with the launch of Little Red several years earlier.

However, a year after the airline was bought by Connect Airways, Flybe collapsed following the onset of Covid-19, which was said to have compounded ongoing financial struggles. The brand, though, was revived in April 2021 and took to the skies again in April 2022, based out of Birmingham airport and flying too from Heathrow, Exeter and Belfast City airports.

It was confirmed during the early hours of Saturday morning that the airline had failed again, with the joint administrators claiming Flybe had been forced to withstand "a number of shocks" since it was relaunched – including the late delivery of 17 aircraft. Much of its former route network had also already been filled out by rivals during its absence.

Balpa general secretary Martin Chalk added: "Many of the staff of Flybe will have recently suffered the harrowing effects of one bankruptcy, and now they are being subjected to yet another. Balpa will not only support its members through this difficult time, but will seek to work with the Department for Transport to improve the regulatory framework to avoid such sudden and precipitous events in the future."

Unite national officer for civil aviation Oliver Richardson, meanwhile, said the government had failed to learn lessons from the original collapse of Flybe.

"It has failed to introduce the Airline Insolvency Bill, which would have allowed Flybe to continue to operate, avoided passengers being stranded and staff losing their jobs in the middle of the night," said Richardson.

"In recent years, the UK has seen the collapse of Monarch, Thomas Cook and Flybe twice – how many more airlines will be allowed to plunge into administration before the government introduces the measures needed to protect the UK’s aviation industry and its passengers?"

Flybe was scheduled to serve 21 routes across 17 destinations in the UK and Europe this year, according to flight schedule analyst Cirium, using a fleet of leased Q400 aircraft.

This included seven daily Heathrow flights to Amsterdam, Belfast, Newcastle and Newquay. During the week of 30 January to 5 February 2023, it had been schedule to fly in excess of 22,700 seats across 292 flights.

Clive Wratten, chief executive of the Business Travel Association (BTA), said Flybe’s demise was "dreadful news" for leisure and corporate travellers. "Their predominantly UK focused network gave them a vital role in British business. With the train strikes next week, our economy is once more being brought to a standstill.

"It’s imperative that our domestic infrastructure is brought in line with our global ambitions. Our thoughts are with all this impacted by the loss of Flybe today."

Which? Travel editor Rory Boland noted the lack of financial protection for Flybe bookings, with the majority sitting outside the Atol scheme. "This will be terrible news to Flybe passengers, many of whom used the airline regularly where it provided essential services from regional airports," said Boland.

"Very few passengers flying Flybe will be on Atol protected packages so the government is unlikely to step in and repatriate those abroad or provide refunds."