Flybe moves step closer to taking off again

Tuesday 08 December 2020

Flybe has moved a step closer to returning to the skies after its new owner applied for a UK operating licence.

The airline, which was founded as Jersey European Airways in 1979, collapsed in March and was one of the first major casualties of the pandemic.

Last month, Flybe’s business and assets were sold by its administrators to a firm controlled by hedge fund Cyrus Capital.

The fund had been part of a consortium called Connect Airways, along with Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Aviation, which had first bought the airline in February 2019 for £2.8m. However, after a £100m Government loan failed to materialise, Flybe filed for administration and stopped flying on 5 March, despite a £135m investment from its owners.

As a result, more than 2,000 staff lost their jobs, including a number of local pilots, crew and ground staff.

Cyrus Capital, however, returned in October, setting up a holding company called Thyme Opco to buy the airline for an undisclosed sum. The new owners said they hoped that Flybe would take off again early in 2021. 

It made an application to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority on 1 December on behalf of the airline, a necessary step to returning to the skies.

However, Thyme Opco only bought Flybe’s stock, equipment, brand and intellectual property, therefore, it currently has no staff or aircraft. As it has applied for a new licence, it is unlikely to have retained any of Flybe’s precious landing slots either. 

Former Connect Airways partner Virgin Atlantic last month said it would be a willing partner of any resurrected Flybe, while market analysts have predicted that a number of the regional airline’s former routes, particular from Southampton and Exeter, were profitable and could be revived.

Flybe’s hedge-fund owners have already said that a relaunched airline would start off significantly smaller than its collapsed predecessor.