Hundreds of passengers throughout Europe have been stranded by the abrupt collapse of the British regional airline Flybmi.
British Midland Regional Ltd., which operates as Flybmi or bmi, said it’s filing for administration — a British version of bankruptcy protection — because of higher fuel costs and uncertainty caused by Britain’s upcoming departure from the European Union.
“Current trading and future prospects have also been seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process, which has led to our inability to secure valuable flying contracts in Europe and a lack of confidence around bmi’s ability to continue flying between destinations in Europe,” the airline said on its website late Saturday.
The airline thanked workers for their dedication and said “it is with a heavy heart that we have made this unavoidable announcement.”
376 thrown out of work
The airline operated 17 jets on routes to 25 European cities. It employed 376 people in Britain, Germany, Sweden and Belgium and says it carried 522,000 passengers on 29,000 flights last year.
Pilots union chief Brian Strutton said the airline’s collapse came with no warning and “is devastating news for all employees.”
“Our immediate steps will be to support Flybmi pilots and explore with the directors and administrators whether their jobs can be saved,” he said.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU on March 29 but there are serious doubts about whether the British Parliament will approve the Brexit withdrawal deal that Prime Minister Theresa May negotiated with the EU. That is making it more difficult for businesses to plan for the separation.
Many passengers stranded
Flybmi said all flights will be cancelled and advised passengers to seek refunds from credit card issuers, travel agents or travel insurance companies.
Passengers were told not to travel to the airport Sunday, unless they had made arrangements directly with other airlines. Flybmi said it would not be rescheduling passengers on other airlines’ flights.
Many passengers were left stranded by the shutdown. Hannah Price told Sky News she was planning to return Monday to Britain from Brussels on Flybmi.
Hundreds of passengers have been stranded by the abrupt collapse of the British regional airline. (PA via AP)
“Unfortunately for me, I was supposed to be flying home with them in less than 48 hours to Bristol. I don’t think that’s going to happen now,” she said.
The collapse will have a major impact on the Northern Ireland city of Derry, also known as Londonderry, which will lose its only air connection to London. Officials at the City of Derry Airport said they were urgently seeking a new carrier to keep the link open.
Flybmi was still seeking customers up until the day before its collapse, urging people in a tweet to book flights to Germany for a winter sports holiday.
British regional airline Flybmi has cancelled all its flights and filed for administration, the airline has announced.
The company said it had been badly affected by rises in fuel and carbon costs and uncertainty over Brexit.
The East Midlands-based airline, which has 376 staff, operates 17 planes flying to 25 European cities.
Affected passengers have been told to contact their travel agents or insurance and credit card companies.
A Flybmi spokesman said: “It is with a heavy heart that we have made this unavoidable announcement.
“The airline has faced several difficulties, including recent spikes in fuel and carbon costs, the latter arising from the EU’s recent decision to exclude UK airlines from full participation in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
“Current trading and future prospects have also been seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process, which has led to our inability to secure valuable flying contracts in Europe.”
The airline issued the following advice to those due to fly:
- People who booked directly with Flybmi should contact their card issuer to seek a refund.
- Passengers who booked via a travel agent or one of Flybmi’s partner airlines should contact them to see what their options are.
- Those with travel insurance should see if they are eligible to claim for cancelled flights.
The Civil Aviation Authority also published advice for travellers.
Rory Boland, travel editor for consumer body Which?, said: “Some customers have claimed that tickets were being sold in the hours before the airline went bust, knowing full well those tickets would never be honoured, and passengers will rightly be outraged if this is proved to be the case.”
One of Flybmi’s domestic routes, linking Derry and Stansted, was subsidised by the government to boost trade and travel between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Several people use the flights for work and Derry Strabane Council said it was in emergency talks with the Department of Transport to seek a replacement airline on that route.
Derry Strabane Cncl@dcsdcouncilVery disappointing news that @flybmi have gone into receivership – Council would like to reassure the public that its officers & reps from @CoDerryAirport are in emergency talks tonight with UK Dept for Transport to urgently seek a replacement airline
End of Twitter post by @dcsdcouncil
Richard Edwards, from West Sussex, on a skiing holiday in Austria with his wife and three children, told how they had experienced problems with their scheduled flight out to Munich.
He said: “We had gone through security at Bristol Airport when there was an announcement saying our flight had been cancelled.
“They laid on taxis to Heathrow and booked us on a Lufthansa flight to Munich.
“I don’t know how we will get back yet. I’m not confident Flybmi will be able to sort it.”
Richard Edwards@RA_Edwards9Great start to our holiday; en route with @Charlot53066691 and the family by taxi to Heathrow as our @flybmi from Bristol to Munich (which had previously been changed from Southampton) was cancelled with no explanation after we had gone through security!
End of Twitter post by @RA_Edwards9
Durham University student Mary Ward found out her flight could be affected when her mother showed her a news alert.
Shortly afterwards Mary received a text from the airline: “URGENT: Important message for Flybmi customers. All flights are cancelled. Please go to www.flybmi.com for further details. Thank you.”
She had been due to fly from Belgium to Newcastle but is not sure what she will do now.
“I paid £130 for my flight which it doesn’t seem I’m going to get back – I don’t know how I am going to get back to Durham,” she said.
“I can’t afford any of the flights or the Eurostar.”
The UK regional airline Flybe tweeted to reassure some passengers who had confused the airline with the similar-sounding Flybmi.
Flybe✔@flybe
We are very sorry to hear about the situation with the competing British regional airline Flybmi and our thoughts are with their employees during these difficult times. Flybe has nothing to do with Flybmi and our flights continue to operate as normal.
End of Twitter post by @flybe
British Airline Pilots’ Association general secretary Brian Strutton said: “The collapse of Flybmi is devastating news for all employees.
“Regrettably Balpa had no warning or any information from the company at all.”
“Our immediate steps will be to support Flybmi pilots and explore with the directors and administrators whether their jobs can be saved.”
Last year the airline ran 29,000 flights, carrying 522,000 passengers.
Flying from Aberdeen, Derry, Bristol, the East Midlands, Stansted and Newcastle in the UK, its planes travelled to destinations in the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland and Sweden.
Travel expert Simon Calder told BBC News it had been an “extremely difficult winter” for many airlines.
“Small airlines which do not have the weight of their bigger rivals are particularly vulnerable,” he said. “There are simply too many seats and not enough people.”
A spokesman for the Department for Transport described the situation as “very disappointing” and said the government was focused on supporting affected passengers.