What happens now Flybe has gone into administration and can you get compensation for booked flights?

The airline collapsed overnight amid a drop in demand caused by coronavirus

Europe’s largest regional carrier Flybe has collapsed overnight as coronavirus tipped the struggling airline over the edge.

Business ceased trading in the early hours of Thursday morning 'with immediate effect', putting over 2,000 jobs at risk and all Flybe flights have been grounded.

In a statement posted to Twitter, the airline said said:"All flights have been grounded and the UK business has ceased trading with immediate effect.

"If you are due to fly with Flybe DO NOT TRAVEL TO THE AIRPORT unless you have arranged an alternative flight with another airline. Please note that Flybe is unfortunately not able to arrange alternative flights for passengers."

In January, the airline looked to be on the brink of collapse due to falling demand, rising fuel costs and the weakening of the pound and yesterday there were reports that the £100m government loan that was set to help stabilise the airline was rejected.​

The airline operated more UK domestic flights than any other, flying around eight million passengers a year to 170 destinations across the continent.

Its collapse marks the second UK airline to fail in six months, following the shock demise of Thomas Cook last year.

The troubled regional airline was bought in January after suffering financial difficulties
PA

Coronavirus has hit a number of major airlines in the UK - the Independent reports that both Ryanair and easyJet have lost over a fifth of each of its respective values, and yesterday Virgin Atlantic, a shareholder in Flybe's parent firm Connect Airways, announced it would waiver date change fees on all flights booked between March 4 and March 31.

So what does this mean for Flybe passengers? Here’s what we know so far.

What went wrong?

Flybe has been in trouble for some time. It was bought by a consortium consisting of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital in January 2019 following poor financial results.

The consortium, known as Connect Airways, paid just £2.2 million for Flybe’s assets but pledged to pump tens of millions of pounds into the loss-making airline to turn it around.

However, the reported holding of rescue talks with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for Transport (DfT) in January suggested the financial burden on Connect Airways has become unmanageable.

The £100m loan proposed by the government was thought to be in jeopardy due to coronavirus causing a sharp drop in flight bookings.

What has Flybe said?

CEO Mark Anderson said in a statement: “The UK has lost one of its greatest regional assets. Flybe has been a key part of the UK aviation industry for four decades, connecting regional communities, people and businesses across the entire nation.

“I thank all our partners and the communities we have been privileged to serve. Above all I would like to thank the Flybe team for their incredible commitment and dedication.”

What will happen to existing bookings now the airline has collapsed?

Passengers will not be able to travel. All Flybe flights have been cancelled and bookings will not be transferred to another airline.

Defunct airlines have previously advised passengers to look out for reduced fees – so-called “rescue rates” – from former competitors.

Customers due to travel on a code-share flight should contact the partner airline directly to check their status.

Will passengers be entitled to a refund or compensation?

That depends on how the booking was made.

Some travel insurance companies will cover cancelled flights if they are the result of an airline collapse, but not all.

Customers should check their policy to see if it includes Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance (SAFI) or End Supplier Failure.

Passengers might also be covered if they paid for all or part of their flight with a credit card and it cost more than £100.

If you paid with a debit card, you may also be protected by the chargeback scheme.

Contact your bank or card firm to find out if you are eligible for a refund.

Are Flybe passengers ATOL protected?

Flights bought directly from Flybe are not ATOL protected.

However, if you bought the holiday through a separate travel agent then you may be covered.

What is the ATOL scheme?

ATOL provides protection to holidaymakers when a travel firm collapses.

The scheme protects most trips booked as a package, such as flights and accommodation, or flights and car hire.

It also applies to some flight-only bookings, particularly when the tickets are not received immediately.

How can my travel agent help?

If you booked flights as part of an ATOL-protected package holiday, your travel agent or tour operator should offer you an alternative flight or a change of date for your trip.

If this isn’t possible, you should be entitled to a full refund.

If you booked a flight only through a travel agent, the sale might be covered by ATOL and this means that you can apply for a refund.

If this is the case, you should have received an ATOL certificate at the time of booking.

This scenario means it’s likely your holiday will be delayed but you might not lose out financially.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in