BUSINESS NEWS


Connect Airways chief Mark Anderson says the


deferred portion of Flybe’s tax bill is less than £10 million and deferment ‘will only last a couple of months before all taxes are paid in full’


Flybe flies into a storm over government rescue


Carrier survives thanks to a less-than-transparent rescue plan. Ian Taylor reports


Te government agreement to keep Flybe operating last week sparked a backlash from rivals, analysts and opposition MPs despite a welcome from passengers, aviation industry associations and unions. News that Flybe was close to


collapse broke late last weekend, but the government confirmed talks began on a rescue when it was informed the airline was considering administration on January 11. The crisis came despite Flybe


being rescued from failure less than a year ago when it was acquired by


80 23 JANUARY 2020


the Connect Airways consortium of Virgin Atlantic, US investor Cyrus Capital and Stobart Group. The consortium paid just


£2.8 million for Flybe’s assets and £2.2 million to existing shareholders but pledged to invest £100 million to turn around the carrier, which has lost money continually since a public listing in 2010. Details of the agreement reached


on Tuesday of last week with the Treasury, Department for Business and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Department for Transport (DfT) and


HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) were not spelled out. Department spokespeople were


unwilling to give details and one source told Travel Weekly: “There isn’t anywhere you’ll find the detail.” However, the government


confirmed a review of Air Passenger Duty (APD) in the March budget. This will involve APD on domestic flights and not as reported by some media outlets a pledge “to review


Continued on page 78 travelweekly.co.uk


BUSINESS NEWS


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