UK-based airline Flybe has apologised to furious customers after cancelling dozens of flights this morning for “operational reasons”.
Passengers booked to travel on the affected flights were reportedly contacted by the airline last night, but some “expressed anger that they received texts and emails minutes before its customers services helpline closed for the day”, says Scottish newspaper The Herald.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The airline, which operates flights across Europe and was recently bought by a Virgin-led consortium, said it wanted to “sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused”.
“All customers affected have been emailed and advised they can rebook for travel on an alternative flight or apply for a full refund,” the company said in a statement.
BBC Business Reporter Clodagh Rice notes that the cancellations “come at an interesting time for Flybe - it’s the first week of the airline’s summer schedule” and the “first new timetable since the airline was taken over last month”.
The Herald adds that the disruption “caps an embarrassing week for the airline”, which saw its flagship new Newquay to London Heathrow route “descend into chaos on Sunday when engineers were unable to fix an electrical fault with the plane”.
Passengers due to travel on the inaugural flight instead had to endure a six-hour bus ride from the Cornish airport to the capital.
City A.M. says that Flybe’s issues may be symptomatic of a wider problem in low-cost air travel for budget airlines “struggling to stay afloat at the moment”, with Icelandic no-frills airline Wow Air going out of business last week and Norwegian Air “on the brink”.
-
Home Depots are the new epicenters of ICE raidsIn the Spotlight The chain has not provided many comments on the ongoing raids
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
The pros and cons of banning cellphones in classroomsPros and cons The devices could be major distractions
-
Air India crash highlights a new problem for Boeing: the DreamlinerIn the Spotlight The 787 had never been in a fatal crash before
-
Hundreds die in Air India crash with 1 survivorSpeed Read The London-bound Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed soon after takeoff
-
New York helicopter crash kills family, pilotspeed read A sightseeing helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, killing a family of Spanish tourists
-
Southwest joins rival airlines on paid baggageSpeed Read The company is ending its longtime free-luggage policy
-
Delta flight lands upside-down in Toronto, no deathsspeed read At least 18 people were injured in a flight that landed at Toronto's Pearson International Airport
-
Passenger jet, Blackhawk helicopter collide in DCSpeed Read An American Airlines flight with 64 people aboard collided with an Army helicopter, and no survivors have been found
-
Washington DC plane crash: how did mid-air collision happen?Today's Big Question Experts struggle to explain how sophisticated airspace control system failed to prevent deadly disaster
-
Senate passes FAA bill with new consumer protectionsSpeed Read The legislation will require airlines to refund customers for flight delays
