Flybe revival hopes dashed after Aer Lingus contract miss

The revival hopes of collapsed airline, Flybe have been dashed after it missed out on a key contract that would allow it to run flights to Ireland. The Aer Lingus regional franchise was instead handed to Emerald Airlines in a surprise move over the weekend. Emerald Airlines is a new carrier set up by Irish businessman Conor McCarthy. Flybe was one of many regional carries bidding to snatch the Aer Lingus contract, the Telegraph reports. Loganair and Stobart Air, which had run services on behalf of Aer Lingus for the past decade, were also thought to have been involved. The boss of Stobart Air had hoped for a deal to keep running Aer Lingus services for another 10 years, after the carrier was put up for sale by its listed parent, who also owns Southend airport. The embattled airline was pushed into administration earlier this year as COVID-19 hammered the travel industry. But, even prior to the pandemic, in January 2020 Flybe narrowly avoided administration. Europe’s largest regional airline officially collapsed in March. In October, Thyme Opco — a firm linked to former owners Cyrus Capital — has bought Flybe’s remaining assets and plans to relaunch the purple planes in 2021, although on a smaller scale than before.<br/>