Airlines: Insolvency

(asked on 16th January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their decision to provide state aid to Flybe, what assessment they have made of the case for (1) planning for a possible public take-over of essential regional and short-haul airlines in the event of a collapse of an operating company, on a similar basis to that with London North Eastern Railway on the East Coast main line or otherwise, and (2) improvements in the railway network between the regional centres, in particular on the north-east and south-west axis between Exeter, Bristol and Birmingham, in addition to HS2 between Birmingham and the north-east.


Answered by
Baroness Vere of Norbiton Portrait
Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 30th January 2020

There has been no state aid provided to Flybe. This Government is committed to levelling up all regions of the UK, and that is why we have announced a review of regional connectivity that will assess how we can maintain key air routes and ensure all nations and regions of the UK have the domestic transport connections local communities rely on – including regional services from local airports. This review, led by the Department for Transport, will consider all options to ensure we continue to have good regional connectivity.

The Department for Transport is already working with Arriva Cross Country to bring much needed extra capacity between the South West and North East as suitable trains become available in the rolling stock market.

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