Flybe: Isle of Man ministers to be quizzed on airline's collapse

Flybe's collapse spelt the end for all routes to Manchester and Birmingham

Isle of Man government ministers are braced to face a raft of questions over the collapse of Flybe in the House of Keys.

A total of five urgent questions have been tabled for Tuesday's sitting.

MHKs will demand to know more about the impact on hospital patient transfers and whether or not the defunct airline owed the Manx government money.

Rob Callister MHK said the public "want answers" about the government's response to the collapse.

Flybe's collapse on 5 March spelt the end for all routes to Manchester and Birmingham and a reduction in flights to Liverpool.

An announcement regarding a new carrier for the routes was "expected" to be made this week, Chief Minister Howard Quayle said.

Mr Callister, who has tabled three of the questions, said: "Loganair has already stepped in and filled 16 spaces and that included the Channel Islands, so the question is why has the Isle of Man not been proactive in that period since January, when the first bailout was achieved?

"There's just a lot of unanswered questions."

He said he was asking the questions to "try and get some information into the public domain around this collapse and what the island's planning to do in the next coming days and weeks".