Hope for Flybe staff as collapse hits passengers

Aviation expert John Strickland said affected staff should be able to get jobs with other airlines

An aviation industry analyst says there is more optimism for Flybe staff losing their jobs in a fresh round of redundancies, citing a predicted increase in flight sales.

Flybe originally went bust in 2020, but was renamed Flybe Limited in 2022., before going into administration on Saturday.

Out of 277 jobs being lost, 133 posts are at the Birmingham Airport base.

John Strickland said people wanting to stay in the industry would be able to.

The professor from Coventry University said there were "very buoyant levels of demand" from passengers.

He added the first time the airline went into administration, the market forces were less agreeable due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Flybe, based at Birmingham Airport, ceased trading on Saturday morning and cancelled all flights

Airlines Ryanair and EasyJet have already said Flybe staff should apply for roles with them.

EasyJet said it had 250 vacancies for cabin crew.

About 2,500 passengers were due to fly with Flybe on Saturday, with about 75,000 passengers in total having flights cancelled.

Saskia Masaun, from Wolverhampton, was preparing to fly to Edinburgh from Birmingham when she found out the flight was grounded.

"I just couldn't believe it had happened on the day we were flying, it was unbelievable," she said.

Saskia Masaun was planning to fly from Birmingham Airport to Edinburgh

While Flybe said it would not be able to help passengers arrange alternative flights, Ms Masaun was able to get a refund from the airline.

"Obviously when I found out, I was sort of thinking about the cabin crew and all the people who had lost their livelihoods, who had lost their jobs," she said.

"Even though it was sad for me, I was thinking about them as well."

A statement published on Saturday said the High Court had appointed joint administrators for Flybe Limited.

"Flybe has now ceased trading and all flights from and to the UK operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled," it said.

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