Flybmi goes into administration - blames 'Brexit uncertainty'

Regional airline Flybmi has gone into administration and cancelled all its flights.

The British company, which flew 17 regional jet aircraft on routes to 25 European cities, says Brexit has been a major factor in its demise.

A total of 376 people based in the UK, Germany, Sweden and Belgium worked for the airline, and their jobs are now at risk.

Thousands of holidaymakers have had their plans thrown into disarray - with the airline taking down its full website and replacing it with a statement. In 2018, Flybmi had carried 522,000 passengers on 29,000 flights.

Those affected are being told not to come to the airport unless they have rebooked flights with alternative providers. Flybmi has said it is not able to purchase, rearrange or reschedule journeys for its customers.

British Midland Regional Limited, which ran the East Midlands-based airline, said "several difficulties" were to blame for its demise - with issues including a rise in fuel costs "undermining efforts to move the airline into profit".

A statement added: "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 lack of confidence around bmi's ability to continue flying between destinations in Europe.

Sky News