Flybe to stop using Manston airport

Flybe has said it will not be flying from Manston International Airport in Kent after March.

The airline said it would cease operations there at the end of the winter season.

Flybe spokesman Niall Duffy said: "We tried different routes and the numbers simply weren't there. It's impossible to sustain routes without the passengers."

Flybe launched its Manston to Edinburgh service in May 2010.

Mr Duffy said: "Unfortunately for the Manston services it was just impossible to look at those passenger numbers and think that we could sustain the kind of difficulties we were facing.

"It is fair to say that Manston is one of the airports with the smaller catchment areas in the United Kingdom, and you have Gatwick not too far away."

The airline said passengers booked on flights after March would be contacted by Flybe and offered a full refund or tickets on alternative flights.