In a joint statement, council leaders together with the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSWLEP) welcome the news securing the future of Flybe.

In a joint statement, council leaders together with the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSWLEP) have welcomed the news regarding the future of Flybe, Europe’s largest regional airline.

Devon County Council leader John Hart said:

This will be an immense relief to the hundreds of Devon people who work for Flybe directly, the companies that supply them and the businesses and travellers who use these important links to other parts of the UK and foreign destinations.

We can ill afford to lose any links with the rest of the country and the access Flybe provides to international destinations and we need similar security for our road and rail links. Devon’s Chief Executive, Phil Norrey, and I have invited the leaders of Flybe and Virgin to meet with us to see what we can do as local councils, along with East Devon and Exeter, to help them continue to benefit our local economy.

 Cllr Ben Ingham, Leader of East Devon District Council said:

I very much welcome Government’s commitment to regional connectivity, thus securing 1000 jobs in our area and providing much-needed connections for businesses and residents.  

We will continue to work in partnership with the company to ensure that there is a clear and sustainable vision for the future and we stand ready to to do everything we can to help realise this.  This includes taking forward proposals to develop a sustainable aviation cluster at Exeter Airport.

Cllr Phil Bialyk, Leader of Exeter City Council said:

I am absolutely delighted with the announcement. There were 2,400 people throughout the country, and over 1,000 locally who were worrying about their jobs with the loss of Flybe. I am so pleased that the Government has seen sense and is supporting them.

It is not an ailing industry, it is an industry that has been affected widely by a number of factors. But I am so pleased for those families who in this moment now know that their jobs are secure.

We are working together with the Leader of Devon County Council and the leader of East Devon District Council, to see what else we can do, in our own little way as local authorities, to support that business and the jobs it creates, and I am so pleased about that.

 Chair of the Heart of the South West LEP, Karl Tucker said:

We welcome the announcement confirming the commitment of investors and Government to support regional connectivity.

 We are ready to work with Flybe to develop a resilient and secure business strategy, as a key component of delivering economic growth in a low carbon economy throughout the Heart of the South West.

 As part of our clean growth strategy, we are keen to see the development of low carbon air travel through electric or similar technologies, providing new  models of propulsion.