Alan Hudson, Joanne Robinson, Simon Edel and Lucy Winterborne of EY were appointed joint administrators of Flybe on Thursday after the company ceased trading during the early hours of the morning.
Flybe chief executive Mark Anderson said the coronavirus had “compounded” the carrier’s “significant funding challenges” by driving down demand for its services in the UK and Europe.
Hudson said: “Despite an agreement with the government to provide assistance to the company, added pressures on the travel industry in the past few weeks have further deepened the severity of its financial situation. Flybe had already been impacted by rising fuel costs, currency volatility and market uncertainty.
“As well as carrying out our duty as administrators, we are also supporting Flybe’s employees and customers at this incredibly difficult time.”
EY confirmed all Flybe flights have been cancelled and the “majority” of its workforce have been made redundant.
“Financial support for the company has been withdrawn and Flybe will not be able to reschedule flights,” the administrators added.
Exeter-based Flybe was Europe’s largest regional airline carrying around eight million passengers a year, operating at 81 airports across the UK and Europe. It operated 210 routes to and from 15 countries and employed approximately 2,400 people in the UK.
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, the trade body for UK registered airlines, said while Flybe’s troubles were well-documented, the government could have done more to protect it from collapse.
“Flybe’s problems were known to many, and the sector as a whole is going through an incredibly tough period with the coronavirus hitting bookings and dampening demand, and this is being felt across the board,” said Alderslade.
“That said, this is now the fourth UK airline to go out of business in two years. The government is right to say aviation is a commercial proposition and the market should win out – but they are not using the policy levers at their disposal to help the sector. APD [Air Passenger Duty] is the prime example of a disproportionate and penalising policy that is actively holding us back.
“Leaving the EU presents ministers with opportunities to intervene – for example, getting rid of the double domestic APD anomaly, reforming EC261 [EU flight compensation] or using PSOs [Public Service Obligations] in a more imaginative way.
“These should be explored asap, with next week’s Budget presenting the perfect opportunity.”
