British regional airline, flybmi, has filed for administration today with all its flights cancelled with immediate effect.
The airline, which has its headquarters at East Midlands airport, has been operating several scheduled passenger flights to destinations that include Bristol, Leeds, Munch and Brussels using its fleet of 17 Embraer jets.
Flybmi is urging passengers to contact their credit card and travel insurance providers for a refund where possible.
A spokesperson for flybmi said:
It is with a heavy heart that we have made this unavoidable announcement today. 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. These issues have undermined efforts to move the airline into profit.
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. Additionally, our situation mirrors wider difficulties in the regional airline industry which have been well documented.
Against this background, it has become impossible for the airline’s shareholders to continue their extensive programme of funding into the business, despite investment totalling over £40m in the last six years. We sincerely regret that this course of action has become the only option open to us, but the challenges, particularly those created by Brexit, have proven to be insurmountable.
The airline started life 1987 as Business Air. In 1998 Business Air was purchased by British Midland and became British Midland Commuter. In 2001, it changed its name to bmi regional and later to flybmi in December 2017.
In 2014 the airline held the accolade as the most punctual airline in the world.