Flights to Italy cancelled as airline Flybe collapses

Routes lost in the collapse of UK regional airline Flybe included several between the UK and Italy, and passengers expecting to travel with the airline today have been left stranded.

Flybe declared financial collapse on Thursday, March 5th, saying all its scheduled flights would stay on the ground.

“All flights have been grounded and the UK business has ceased trading with immediate effect,” the British company stated on its website.

Anyone scheduled to fly with Flybe was urged “not [to] travel to the airport” unless they had “arranged an alternative flight with another airline.”pic.twitter.com/f2sePwXKfP

Flybe had served several Italian airports including Verona and Milan, which is in the Lombardy region at the epicentre of the current coronavirus outbreak in Italy, and has seen a number of airlines suspending or cutting down flights to northern Italy as passengers cancel trips to the region.

MAP: Which parts of Italy are affected by coronavirus outbreak?

UK government ministers said on Thursday the coronavirus outbreak had put added pressure on the “already weak” airline.

Amid mass cancellations, airline industry experts predicted last week that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on travel plans could put financially-troubled airlines out of business, including the ailing Italian carrier Alitalia.