Flybe

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kelly Tolhurst]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and note his particular interest as Chair of the Select Committee. He is right that we announced in the Queen’s Speech that we would legislate to enhance the Civil Aviation Authority’s oversight of airlines and its ability to mitigate the impact of failure. I am keen to move that legislation forward as soon as possible, and I am happy to give him further updates.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

First and foremost, this is horrendous news for the employees of Flybe, who have lost their jobs in an abrupt, public and distressing manner. Of the 2,000 Flybe staff, about 300 were based in Scotland, with 130 of them in my constituency at Glasgow airport. My thoughts are with all of them, and my constituency office stands ready to assist any local staff affected.

This is also terrible news for passengers, airports and, in particular, regional connectivity. I need not remind the Minister how important regional connectivity is to Scotland. Flybe operated over half the UK’s domestic capacity outside London—that is a huge gap to fill. That said, I am hopeful that some of these routes can be backfilled relatively quickly. I know that Glasgow airport has already had productive discussions with airlines, and in particular Loganair.

There is no doubt that Flybe management have questions to answer; the warning signs have been clear for many years. While I do not blame the UK Government for Flybe’s demise, they, too, have some serious questions to answer. The Secretary of State stood at the Dispatch Box and spoke of the “rescue” of Flybe, yet here we are. I am sure that some passengers bought tickets as a result of the apparent strength of the Government intervention. Will the Government refund those passengers? The Secretary of State also made great play of the regional connectivity review—where is it? It was deemed urgent then, yet we have seen nothing. Moreover, many warned of the consequences of the Government failing to bring forward airline insolvency plans following the collapse of Monarch. It took Thomas Cook to go bust before this Government leapt into action, sadly all too late. If they had acted, we could have avoided the scenes at airports last night, with passengers and Flybe staff alike stranded.

I understand that the Secretary of State is to speak with Michael Matheson. What assurances can the Minister offer Scottish regional passengers? Will she consider extending public service obligations to key regional flights, which are lifeline services in parts of Scotland? The next few months will be extremely challenging for the entire travel and holiday sector. What assurances can she give that no more businesses will go to the wall, as this statement contains merely warm words and no actions?

[Kelly Tolhurst]

I understand the distress and concern in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and region about the flights operating out of those airports. We have had some good news: Loganair has already committed to ensure that 16 of the routes stay in place. We are hopeful that we will be able to work with industry to pick up some of those routes, and I can assure him that the Department is determined to backfill those routes and maintain the viability of regional airports. He asked me a number of questions. I am more than happy to speak with him afterwards if he wants to go into detail and to speak with Scottish colleagues about the particular effect on Scotland and the PSO routes.