Another airline crashes out of business

You may recall my piece a few weeks ago about the risks of trying to save money by booking cheap flights on small independent European airlines.

Yet another has just crashed out of business, leaving more flyers out of pocket.

British regional airline Flybmi has cancelled all its flights and filed for administration, the BBC reported.



The company said it had been badly affected by rises in fuel and carbon costs and uncertainty over Brexit (Britain's absurdly chaotic exit from the European Union).

The East Midlands-based airline, which had 376 staff, operated 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."

Some customers have claimed that tickets were still being sold just hours before the airline went bust.

In 2018, the airline operated 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.