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Flybe: At least 24 flights cancelled leaving passengers stranded

Furious passengers are stranded as Flybe cancels at least 24 flights blaming pilot holidays while axeing jet routes from four airports

• Belfast, Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, London Southend and Southampton hit 
• Flights also cancelled from Cardiff, Aberdeen and East Midlands Airport today 
• Flybe could be closing bases in Cardiff and Doncaster Sheffield later this year 
• It follows the collapse of UK airline Bmi Baby and Icelandic firm WOW Air 
• Are you affected by cancellations? Email photos to pictures@mailonline.co.uk 

By Lara Keay For Mailonline

Published: 10:42 BST, 3 April 2019 | Updated: 00:24 BST, 4 April 2019

Passengers across Britain have been left furious after struggling airline Flybe cancelled dozens of flights on the same day it announced it will stop flying jets from four airports. 

At least 24 UK flights have been cancelled today with airline bosses blaming the busy Easter period, pilot shortages and staff annual leave piling up.

Flybe was today confirmed to be in job loss talks, with passengers boarding planes at Cardiff Airport claiming cabin crew told them they are 'being made redundant in October'. 

The airline later confirmed its bases in Cardiff and Doncaster Sheffield will close, while services in Exeter and Norwich will be reduced. 

Flybe was rescued by a larger company in December 2018 after running up £20million losses the previous year.  

Today's travel chaos has brought misery to more than 2,000 passengers, leaving staff bombarded with customer complaints.  

Passengers have been left furious after dozens of UK flights were cancelled by Flybe

A departure board at Belfast City Airport shows cancelled and delayed Flybe flights 

Sue Piercey, from Bradford, had her flight from Leeds to Belfast cancelled today. She says her family holiday has been ruined 

Thousands of customers have been affected with at least 24 routes cancelled around the UK 

The airline has cancelled at least five flights from Belfast City Airport, four from Birmingham and one from East Midlands.

Services in and out of Leeds Bradford, Aberdeen, Cardiff, London Southend and Southampton are also being affected. 

Passengers received texts and emails yesterday evening informing them their flights would be cancelled today. 

What are my rights if my flight has been cancelled?  

Under EU law, airline passengers have rights to protect them from disruption, delays and cancellations.

To be covered by EU law your flight must leave from an EU airport and be operated by any airline or arrive at an EU airport and be operated by an EU airline. 

Rights of UK passengers may change when Britain leaves the EU.  

If your cancelled short-haul flight (less than 1,500km) is covered by EU law, your airline must let you choose between two options: 

Refund: You can get your money back for all parts of the ticket you haven't used. For instance, if you have booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket back from your airline.

Alternative flight: If you still want to travel, your airline must find you an alternative flight. 

It's up to you whether to fly as soon as possible after the cancelled flight, or at a later date that suits you. Airlines often refer to this as being 'rerouted'.

Although most airlines will book you onto another of their flights to the same destination, if an alternative airline is flying there significantly sooner then you may have the right to be booked onto that flight instead. You can discuss this with your airline. 

If your flight is not covered by EU law, you may still be entitled to assistance.

If your flight is cancelled with less than 14 days noticed you are entitled to compensation - but only if it the airline is proved to be at fault.

Delays caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other 'extraordinary circumstances' are not eligible for compensation. 

Source: Civil Aviation Authority  

Only routes within the UK are being affected, but the company was unable to confirm exactly how many when asked by MailOnline. 

Sue Piercey, from Bradford, told BBC News her flight from Leeds to Belfast was cancelled today.

She said: 'We received a curt email at 19:00 last night followed by an even shorter text message. No other flight options were offered.' 

'Our holiday is totally off now, and I hope my insurance company can help me.' 

Flybe staff at Cardiff Airport, where the airline runs the most flights out of all of its UK bases, have been told there are at least 100 of their jobs at risk with the possibility of the airline ceasing all operations there in October. 

Passengers boarding Flybe planes in Cardiff this morning claimed cabin crew told them they were 'being made redundant' in October. 

Pilots' union Balpa claims Flybe is closing its Cardiff and Doncaster Sheffield bases, with services also being scaled back in Exeter and Norwich.

Jets will no longer fly from Doncaster Sheffield, Cardiff, Exeter or Norwich, but other plane models will still run.  

Unite union regional officer Peter Coulson said: 'Unite is seeking to minimise the potential job losses and secure assurances about Flybe's long-term future.

'Our members are justifiably concerned about their jobs and future employment, as a result of the company cancelling a number of flights for 'operational reasons' and having launched a redundancy programme.

'It is essential that Flybe is fully transparent with its workforce about the exact situation facing the company. The current uncertainty is incredibly unsettling and is in danger of severely damaging morale at the company.'

Flybe chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener said: 'Our fleet reduction has always been core to improving our profitability.

'We are committed to assisting all our affected employees across the impacted Flybe bases.

'We remain fully committed to Exeter, Cardiff and Doncaster airports and will continue to offer a comprehensive choice of regional and European destinations operated by our 78-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft.'   

Today's chaos follows the collapse of East Midlands-based airline Bmi Baby and Iceland's WOW air earlier this year. 

On Sunday an inaugural Flybe route from Newquay to Heathrow was cancelled and passengers were forced to get on a bus instead.

Bizarre images showed air stewards walking down the aisle of a coach - instead of a plane.  

Angry passengers took to Twitter this morning to complain they had been left stranded with no information about their journey. 

Angry passengers took to Twitter this morning to complain they had been left stranded with no information about their journey

One person wrote on Twitter: 'Flybe if you cancel my flight today from Belfast to London City and I miss the first Spurs game in the new stadium... I don't know what I'll do but I'll be very angry.'

Another wrote: 'I'm concerned to see you're cancelling flights. I'm due to fly from Edinburgh to Cardiff next week on Wednesday. Is there any risk that this may be cancelled? Should I book with an alternative company?'

Someone else tweeted: 'Flybe why the flight cancellations? Is this going to happen again? 

'We have booked flights coming up for special occasions and this is very worrrying #flybe #flightcancellations #worriedcustomer' 

The disruption follows the launch of the airline's summer schedule, but officials have not confirmed if the two are linked. 

Flybe was bought by the Connect Airways consortium, which includes Virgin Atlantic, in December 2018 after running up huge losses. 

It got into financial difficulty in 2017 after an 'aggressive expansion', with one pilot struck off after accusing bosses of 'ruining a profitable airline'.

The senior pilot wrote in an open letter: 'Congratulations, in two years at Flybe you and your fellow incompetent cohorts have managed to totally destroy a viable airline which was making profits when you took over.' 

Flybe passengers on a new 'flagship' route were forced to take a six-hour coach journey after their aeroplane broke down

The 6.40pm service from Newquay to Heathrow could not take-off on Sunday because of a 'technical issue' which saw some passengers miss a day of work and forced others to spend more money on extra accommodation

A Flybe spokesman said in a statement today: 'Flybe sincerely apologises to all our customers and partners affected by the current flight cancellations.

'Whilst 95 per cent of Flybe flights are operating as per normal, we do recognise the impact of today's cancellations.

'We are doing our best to mitigate the impact of the current situation that has arisen due to a combination of factors including seasonality, pilots' end of leave year, Easter holidays, base restructuring and the shortage of pilots across the industry that Flybe has highlighted over recent months.

'We have already identified several mitigation actions and will be issuing further updates throughout the day.

'All those affected have been emailed and advised they can re-book for travel on an alternative flight or apply for a full refund.'

Editor of Which? Travel magazine, Rory Boland, said: 'Thousands of people will understandably be frustrated to have their travel plans thrown into chaos by these last-minute cancellations.

'The lack of clear information provided by Flybe was completely unacceptable.

'All passengers affected by these cancellations are entitled to a full refund or to be rerouted on to another flight to their intended destination - and to over £200 compensation under European air travel rules.'

Flybe flies 8.5 million passengers each year to 170 European destinations. 

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