Flybe may make a return to UK skies subsequent 12 months following a deal for the property of the failed airline.
The regional provider went into administration in Mach this 12 months, with the early levels of the Covid-19 pandemic compounding years of economic losses.
Forward of a possible return, directors EY offered the model and remaining property to Thyme Opco.
The corporate is affiliated to Cyrus Capital, which had put money into the Virgin Atlantic-led rescue try in 2019.
The deal may see the Exeter-based provider restarting as a regional airline within the UK in early 2021.
Simon Edel, a joint administrator, stated it could be nice information for communities across the UK who had relied on Flybe: “The restart of this iconic model, which was as soon as Europe’s largest regional airline, will present a doubtlessly vital enhance to aviation jobs, regional connectivity and native economies.”
Flybe, which flew about eight million passengers a 12 months between 81 airports within the UK and Europe, had lengthy struggled financially.
It was promised contemporary funding when a consortium of Virgin, Stobart Air and Cyrus Capital took over the airline in 2019.
Virgin Atlantic had deliberate to rebrand the airline and combine it as a feeder for its long-haul routes from Manchester and London.
This mannequin now seems unlikely, nonetheless, with Virgin Atlantic having scaled again its operations within the wake of the pandemic.
A Thyme Opco spokesperson added: “Whereas we plan to start out off smaller than earlier than, we count on to create precious airline trade jobs, restore important regional connectivity within the UK and contribute to the restoration of a significant a part of the nation’s economic system.”
