Flybe returns with Birmingham, Belfast and Heathrow operations

Two years after the closure, with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs, Flybe is set to fly next month – starting with four planes and seven routes.

The resurrected carrier will have his headquarters in Birmingham but his main base in Belfast City.

Flybe will also restore the London Heathrow-Leeds Bradford link that was abandoned by British Airways when the coronavirus pandemic took over in 2020. It plans to connect the two cities up to three times daily.

Flybe wants to use its Q400 aircraft, as its predecessor did. These propeller planes will be in competition with existing jet services connecting Heathrow with Belfast City and Amsterdam.

It will only fly twice a day on each link, much less than BA.

Amsterdam will also be connected to Belfast City, Birmingham and the East Midlands from the end of April.

In the summer, Carrier launches French regional services: from Birmingham and Southampton to Avignon, from Birmingham to Brest in Brittany and from Southampton to Toulon Hyères. The route network will increase to 23 city pairs, with up to 530 flights per week.

Flybe’s chief executive, Dave Pflieger, said: “Our goal is to create an airline that people love, and we aim to do that by making air travel on Flybe an easy and enjoyable experience.”

“We think our new flights will benefit everyone who wants low prices and more flights to go on holiday and visit loved ones.

“Our new network will also guarantee better regional connectivity within the UK and between different UK and EU regions.”

But observers say there is little room for what is effectively a new, small regional player – with all the viable routes already taken up by airlines such as Loganair, Eastern Airways, Aer Lingus, British Airways and easyJet.

Flight schedule analyst Sean Moulton said: “Of Flybe’s 12 routes planned from Belfast City, 11 will have direct or indirect competition across the two Belfast airports.

“Only Belfast City in the East Midlands is completely not served.”

The original Flybe collapsed in 2020 after investors hoped to save the airline, which was pumped in £ 100m without success.

The resurgent carrier was originally planned to start services in “early 2022”. Instead, it misses the busy Easter holidays on all but two of its routes: from Belfast City to Birmingham and Glasgow.

Flybe planned route network, start dates and maximum frequency