An Aberdeen woman has told of the heartbreaking moment she learned she had lost £800 worth of flights to and from the Granite City following the collapse of airline Flybmi.
Caroline Stewart, 29, recently moved from Bridge of Don to Esbjerg in Denmark with her husband Gregor, 28, to work in the oil and gas industry.
The couple were out with friends when they received the bad news.
Caroline said: “We were out for a meal with a few others from Aberdeen and we all got a text at the same time reading ‘URGENT: Important message for flybmi customers. All flights are cancelled. Please go to www.flybmi.co.uk for further information. Thank you’.
“We all sort of looked at each other in disbelief. We were absolutely shocked and devastated. We had 16 flights in total booked between now and April between my mum, husband, brother-in-law and his partner. My bank were unable to give me a refund. We would have never moved to Esbjerg without those flights.”
Loganair to take over flybmi routes from Aberdeen and Newcastle
She added: “We’ve heard Loganair are going to be taking the flights, but it means we need to pay twice.
“I just feel bad for all the staff as well that have lost their jobs. ”
The immediate cancellation of all Flybmi flights, including the three served by Aberdeen International Airport, was announced on Saturday night.
The airline blamed Brexit for its collapse and in a statement said: “We sincerely regret that this course of action has become the only option open to us.”
Flybmi had flights between Aberdeen and Esbjerg in Denmark, Oslo in Norway and Bristol.
Regional airline Loganair has said it will take over some of services, including Aberdeen to Bristol, Oslo and Esbjerg from March 4.
The airline’s managing director Jonathan Hinkles said: “It’s always really sad to see an airline go out of business and our thoughts are with all those affected – particularly staff members. We’re working on employment opportunities for pilots, cabin crew and engineering support staff to strengthen the Loganair team.”
Danish airline DAT is also stepping in to provide flights between Esbjerg and Aberdeen, running four days a week starting on February 25.
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Captain Jesper Rungholm, CEO and owner of DAT, said: “It is with great pleasure that we announce the first DAT scheduled flights to Aberdeen.”
“We opened our first oil business route from Esbjerg to Stavanger in 1996 and we have been waiting a long time for this opportunity to further our services from Esbjerg.”