Flybe planes ‘are impounded at UK airports’ amid fears the ailing airline has collapsed

Flybe planes have been ‘impounded at UK airports’ and passengers turned away amid fears the ailing airline has collapsed.

The low-cost European carrier had been hit by a slump in bookings since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

It was facing fresh doubts over its future after failing to secure a £100 million loan.  

This evening, passengers reported being turned away from their flights as staff informed them there would be no more flights. 

Peter Smith, an ITV journalist, tweeted: ‘Has FlyBe just ceased operating in front of my eyes? 

‘Waiting to board a FlyBe flight to Birmingham and all of their flights have just been cancelled. 

‘Advice from staff is FlyBe “definitely will not be flying out tomorrow either.”’

Flybe, which has been hit by a slump in bookings due to the virus outbreak, was saved from going bust by the government earlier this year. 

People briefed on the regional carrier’s situation told the Financial Times that the company only has enough resources to survive until the end of March.

As part of the January rescue deal, it agreed an arrangement to defer tax payments of ‘less than £10 million’ with HM Revenue and Customs. Ministers also agreed to hold a review into Air Passenger Duty (APD).

The structure of APD – which adds £26 to the price of most return domestic flights such as those operated by Flybe – could be altered in next week’s Budget.

Wizz Air – which focuses on the central and eastern European markets – said it will reduce flights from March 11 to countries affected by the virus – mostly to Italy – and is looking at cutting capacity by about another 10% between April and June. 

The airline said a task force has been set up to ‘address the financial implications of Covid-19’ since the start of the outbreak.

Measures taken include ‘significant’ cutting of cost overheads and discretionary spending, pausing recruitment and non-essential travel, and working with suppliers to make further savings.

The London-listed Hungarian company did not estimate the size of the hit from the outbreak in the year to March 31, adding that it is ‘difficult to predict the extent and the duration of the outbreak and the impact on the next financial year’.

Chief executive Jozsef Varadi said: ‘Our ever-disciplined attitude to cost enables Wizz Air to partly offset some of the headwinds due to the Covid-19 outbreak, which have driven a temporary decline in demand and an increase in the cost of disruption as we put the well-being of passengers and crew first.’

It comes after rivals have also cancelled flights and reined in routes in response to coronavirus.

British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG) said on Monday it was cancelling more than 400 flights, mostly on short-haul routes between Heathrow and Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland.

The airline had already suspended its flights serving mainland China and reduced the frequency of flights to northern Italy and Singapore.

Ryanair also said on Monday it was cancelling up to one in four flights on some of its routes, particularly those serving Italian airports, while other measures include ‘rolling schedule cuts’, allocating leave or paid leave to pilots and cabin crew, working with suppliers to cut costs and freezing recruitment, promotion and pay across its network.

Wizz Air’s rivals easyJet and Ryanair have also cancelled flights into and out of Italy.