Flybe flight cancellations: what happened and how can I claim compensation?

Thousands of passengers with bookings on Flybe have had their flights cancelled today, with circumstances at the troubled regional airline indicating further cancellations.

Our travel correspondent is a frequent flyer on Flybe and has been following the airline’s fortunes – and misfortunes.

Flybe and its predecessors, British European and Jersey European, has been connecting the UK for four decades. But along with other airlines, Flybe went into the winter season with the prospect of losing tens of millions of pounds, and saying it was seeking a rescue.

A white knight duly appeared in January in the shape of a consortium of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Air and a US hedge fund – which paid just a penny a share for the airline, but have pumped in millions of pounds to keep Flybe aloft – and, indeed, growing; with new flights launched this weekend from Newquay and Guernsey to Heathrow.

Flybe decided last night to cancel around 30 flights, and told affected passengers by text and emails. Belfast City is worst hit, with at least 10 cancellations and no option to switch to road or rail. Most of the flights are domestic, but links such as Bordeaux to Birmingham, Dusseldorf to Southampton and Cardiff to Verona are also grounded.

Flybe kept quiet for the first part of the morning, but shortly before 10am released a statement which said the cancellations were due to a combination of factors including:

“Seasonality” and “Easter holidays” – the summer season began at the weekend, but every airline has to be prepared for the increase in frequency that happens at the end of each March and while Easter isn’t fixed, its dates are known far into the future.

“Pilots’ end of leave year” – the problem that Ryanair had 18 months ago, and again something that management should plan for.

And a “shortage of pilots across the industry”. A number of sources have told me that there’s a particularly acute shortage of pilots across Flybe, where flight crew are leaving. Partly that’s because they are furious about the Flybe sale, which saw the value shareholdings they’d been given in lieu of pay rises reduced to almost nothing. And partly because they want to work for airlines in stronger financial shape, such as British Airways and easyJet.

The problems that have afflicted the airline on Wednesday could cause similar problems on Thursday, Friday and into the weeks ahead, creating a sense of chaos – and costing Flybe millions in compensation payments.

The airline will be looking at “consolidating” flights – for example reducing the number of departures between Manchester and Southampton from five a day to four. And it could also consider buying in capacity from other airlines, though because of the world-wide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max, which means there are fewer planes and pilots available.

Flybe says: ”All those affected have been emailed and advised they can re-book for travel on an alternative flight or apply for a full refund.” But that’s only part of the story. Anyone who wants to continue their journey can insist on a replacement flight at the earliest available opportunity – even if this means being placed on a flight with a rival air carrier.

For a route such as Cardiff to Verona, which is only once a week, that will be essential. And if Flybe doesn’t automatically do so then passengers can book it themselves and claim the cost back. Any travellers who are delayed overnight should be provided with a hotel room, as well as meals. And every passenger appears entitled to €250 (£215) in compensation under European air passengers’ rights rules.

On today’s basis there’s a 95 per cent chance your flight will go ahead as normal – so you certainly don’t have the right to cancel without penalty. As with any flight, any time, anywhere, you need to have a plan B in case it goes wrong. For routes within mainland Great Britain that could mean road or rail, but for Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands that’s not an option.

Flybmi, the smaller regional airline, went bust a month ago, and Wow Air of Iceland ceased trading last week. Flybe is still losing a prodigious amount of cash, but its new investors are pumping in tens of millions of pounds because they believe there is a future for a leaner, smaller regional airline – particular one with an appealing portfolio of slots at Heathrow. So I do not expect Flybe to fail any time soon.