UK operator BMI Regional has become the latest casualty of the pressure on European airlines, with its decision to cease operations and file for administration.
The company is blaming the uncertainty regarding the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union for contributing to its demise.
All flights have been cancelled, effective 16 February.
BMI Regional had emerged in 2012 as a spin-off airline, under new owners, after the mainline carrier BMI was sold to British Airways parent IAG.
It subsequently became a sister carrier to Scottish operator Loganair, both having been brought under the holding company Airline Investments.
BMI Regional operated services under the brand name Flybmi with a fleet of 17 Embraer ERJ-135 and -145 jets, serving 25 European destinations, and employed nearly 380 personnel in the UK, Germany and Belgium.
But it says that the decision to file for administration is “unavoidable” after it was unable to fend off the impact of “several difficulties”, including “spikes” in fuel and carbon emission costs.
The carrier is also citing the UK’s impending withdrawal from the European Union as an influencing factor.
“Current trading and future prospects have…been seriously affected by the uncertainty created by the ‘Brexit’ process,” it says.
It says this has resulted in an “inability to secure valuable flying contracts” in Europe as well as a “lack of confidence” in the airline’s ability to continue operating between European cities.
These effects have exacerbated “wider difficulties” in the regional airline industry, it adds.
BMI Regional’s shareholders have been unable to continue their financial support for the carrier, the company says.
“We sincerely regret that this course of action has become the only option open to us but the challenges, particularly those created by Brexit, have proven to be insurmountable,” it states.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
