Belfast City Airport flights cancelled as Flybe ceases trading

All passengers due to fly with Flybe today or in the future, are asked to not to travel to the airport unless they have arranged an alternative flight with another airline.

Flybe says it is “unfortunately not able to arrange alternative flights for passengers”.

David Pike and Mike Pink from Interpath Advisory have been appointed joint administrators to Flybe Limited. As a result of the insolvency proceedings, Flybe is no longer able to fly or accept bookings.

All flights from and to the UK and Northern Ireland operated by Flybe Limited have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled.

What Flybe passengers need to know

Passengers due to fly with Flybe in the next 24-48 hours are advised not to travel to the airport, unless they have booked alternative arrangements. This includes passengers who are currently overseas with a flight scheduled to return to the UK.

Customers who are due to travel in the coming days and weeks may be able to claim a refund and potentially be able to claim any (reasonable) additional costs incurred as a consequence of the cancellation of Flybe’s flights from:

Your credit or debit card provider Your travel insurer

Customers booking through an intermediary should contact them directly to see if they are able to provide additional advice in making a refund claim.

What alternative airlines fly on the Belfast City route?

In response to Flybe entering administration, Matthew Hall, Chief Executive of Belfast City Airport said: “First and foremost, our thoughts are with Flybe employees and passengers affected by this disappointing and unexpected news.

"Passengers booked on Flybe flights should not travel to the airport and should seek further advice from the Civil Aviation Authority.

"Flybe operated 10 flights to and from Belfast City, eight of which are currently served by other carriers from our airport.

"Alternative travel to Birmingham; Glasgow; Leeds Bradford; London Heathrow, Amsterdam; Edinburgh; Manchester; and Southampton can be arranged through Aer Lingus, KLM, British Airways and Loganair which operates flights to Teesside International from Belfast City Airport.”

Flybe was awarded its Air Operating Certificate and Licence to Operate in 2021, with operations commencing in April 2022. The Company’s ambition was to bring the airline back to full capacity, with a focus on establishing regional connectivity across the UK and partnering with operators with access to Europe and the US.

Stuart Irwin, Managing Director at Interpath Advisory in Belfast, said: “The ‘new’ Flybe was welcomed by business and leisure travellers in Northern Ireland when it launched last year as providing additional key connectivity to the mainland. This is devastating news for all those who have supported the Company since then, including employees, passengers, funders and the wider aviation industry.

“We understand this will have a significant impact on those employees based here in Belfast, and our priority is to try and support them as best we can through this difficult process. As a matter of priority, we will be speaking to all of the Company’s employees later this morning to explain what the administration means for them.

“Our focus in the coming days will be to support those employees and communicate with all customers of the business, in particular those passengers who have bookings and are due to fly in the coming days.

“We appreciate that this will cause significant disruption for those customers and, in that regard, we would politely ask that passengers do not travel to airports unless they have made alternative arrangements. Further information for customers can be found on both the Flybe and the CAA websites.”

Stuart Irwin continued: “Significant efforts have been made over recent months by the board and key stakeholders to try to safeguard the future of the business, including seeking new investors and exploring a sales process for the business. Unfortunately, these efforts did not reach a successful conclusion.

“The Administration process provides us with the ability to potentially preserve or dispose of some elements of the business after appointment and, in that regard, we plan to preserve scaled-back elements of the operating platform for a short period such that a rescue transaction remains a possibility. Should any interested party want to explore reviving the airline, I’d encourage them to come forward and make contact with the utmost urgency.”

Flybe operates passenger flights via 21 routes to 17 destinations across the UK and EU. It operates a fleet of eight leased Q400 aircraft.

Headquartered in Birmingham, the company employs approximately 320 people, principally across four sites – Belfast Airport, Birmingham Airport, Exeter Airport and at its Birmingham head office.