DEFUNCT AIRLINE - UK's flybe. to be liquidated as rescue efforts fail

Flybe. (Birmingham, GB) will be wound down after its administrators announced they could not find a suitable buyer in time.

"Despite significant interest from a number of credible parties, it has not been possible to develop a transaction in the available timeframe, and as such, the joint administrators will now commence the process of winding down the business and identifying options in relation to the sale of specific rights, interests and assets. As a result, a further 25 employees have been made redundant with immediate effect," the regional airline's joint administrators, David Pike and Mike Pink from Interpath Advisory, confirmed in a statement on February 15, 2023.

“Over the past two and a half weeks, we’ve held intensive discussions with a number of operators with a view to rescuing the airline and preserving the value in its assets," explained Interpath Managing Director David Pike. “Unfortunately, there was a challenging set of circumstances at play, including the ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ rules related to slots, complexities with European recognition of a potential temporary operating license and the high costs associated with preserving the company’s operating platform, which meant there was a limited window in which a clear path forward could be set."

Pike said it was clear from the outset that there were only a limited number of parties "who had the necessary strategic fit and who could navigate the complexities of such a transaction to get a deal over the line". "It is with regret that discussions have now been brought to a close without a deal being agreed," he said.

“Over the coming days, we will continue to work with the lessors to return aircraft records to them, and will also continue to provide support to those employees who have been impacted by redundancy. We are particularly grateful to those operators and other organisations across the aviation industry who have reached out to us directly to offer support in finding new roles for employees,” he concluded.

As reported, the airline ceased trading on January 28, 2023, for the second time in three years. It relaunched operations on April 13, 2022, following the collapse of flybe. (2002) (Exeter) on March 4, 2020.

Lufthansa Group and Air France-KLM reportedly were amongst the interested parties as they were keen to get their hands on flybe.'s slots at London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol.
CH Aviation