First tickets to go on sale as Flybe returns

A full list of routes, destinations, and everyday low fares are due to be announced for its first two bases of operation at Birmingham and Belfast City Airport.

The airline announced Birmingham as the home of its new headquarters and first crew base in November.

It comes in the same week low-cost airline easyJet celebrated is three millionth passnegr from Birmingham and revealed it is seeing a surge in demand for flights. It will start a new service to Faro, Portugal, in may.

Flybe is adding Belfast City Airport to its network—as its second main base of operations with plans to rapidly grow, create more jobs, and add more flights as the summer progresses.

Flybe chief executive Dave Pflieger said: “Next week is going to be an exciting time for customers and communities that have been waiting to hear from us about low fares, new routes, and new destinations—all of which are being timed to coincide with the restart of the economy and a return to normality after two difficult years for all.

“As you’ve heard, our team has been working hard for over a year and a half to bring customers a new airline that people will love, and we are particularly excited to be flying to Belfast City Airport and serving Northern Ireland.

“Once we start flying from Birmingham, Belfast, and many other cities in the UK and EU, we are confident that a new and improved Flybe will provide customers with great value, more choices, and the opportunity to quickly and more conveniently visit loved ones, go on holiday, and more easily visit customers or attend important meetings.

“Given that goal, Flybe hopes to do its part to help communities across the country bounce back from the dramatic impact of the global pandemic.”

The new Flybe was established in April last year and it intends to operate throughout the UK and EU with operations scheduled to begin in the spring.

Flybe is expected to play a crucial role in creating jobs, connecting communities, and helping restart local economies across the UK and Europe after it launches and grows its fleet of fast, quiet, and carbon dioxide-efficient dash 8-400 planes to a planned size of 32 aircraft.

The previous Flybe, which had its headquarters at Exeter Airport, went into administration in March 2020 ceasing all operations. Flybe was at one time the largest independent regional airline in Europe and provided more than half of UK domestic flights outside London. One of its hubs was at Birmingham.

Flybe started as Jersey European Airways in 1979 and was later renamed British European in 2000 and received the Flybe name in 2002.