Only weeks after resuming operations, flybe. (Birmingham, GB) has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights between July 28 and October 29, citing a shortage of available aircraft from lessors.
In an apology to passengers on the company website, CEO Dave Pflieger explained: "Two aircraft leasing companies that were contracted to provide our additional aeroplanes have now told us that they will be unable to fulfil their commitments until after the summer. We were able to find and rent aircraft from two separate airlines in Greece and Spain [ERJ 170-200LR SX-ASK (msn 17000330 from Marathon Airlines and ATR72-500(QC) EC-KKQ (msn 763) from Swiftair], but those planes are not enough, and the lack of additional aircraft needed for new flying means we need to adjust our future flight schedule."
"This is not a decision that I have taken lightly, and as you would expect, we are in daily conversations with all involved to see if anything might change that would allow us to resume our original plans at an earlier date," he added.
Pflieger said the carrier had planned to increase flights on its existing routes and introduce new destinations such as Aberdeen Dyce, Inverness, Newcastle, GB, and Southampton this summer. "We will still introduce more flights later this year after we receive our delayed aircraft," he said.
The following routes have been suspended for the summer:
- Between Belfast City and Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow International, Inverness, Manchester International, Newcastle, and Southampton;
- Between Birmingham, GB and Belfast City, Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
flybe. is the latest airline to cut capacity along with numerous airlines around Europe that have been forced to shrink their schedules for the summer, stymied by staffing shortages at major airports.
