The first reaction was shock, said Sophie Zeldin-O’Neill in The Guardian. Some of those due to fly with Flybe, the UK regional airline that collapsed for the second time in three years last weekend, had booked tickets just hours before the news came through. “I got an email asking me to check in, and ten minutes later they had gone into administration,” said one passenger. Hundreds of others were left “stranded” and out-of-pocket at their outbound destination because the company wasn’t part of the Atol protection scheme.
Doubtless some 300 staff, now in limbo as administrators comb through the books, will sympathise with their plight, said Jon Yeomans in The Sunday Times. Yet it turns out that the writing was already on the wall. The Belfast- and Birmingham-based carrier, which was losing £5m a month, had begun looking for a buyer in October – just six months after it relaunched. The owner, the US hedge fund Cyrus Capital, is now listed as a creditor, along with several leasing firms. Ryanair has reportedly offered a lifeline to Flybe staff by setting up a fast-track recruitment process.
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
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.