Flybe storm over £280,000 penalty
29.03.08
Budget airline Flybe advertised for actors to fly back and forth between two cities in an effort to boost passenger numbers and avoid a £280,000 commercial penalty, according to press reports. It is also said to have laid on extra flights, offered the public free trips and placed staff on standby to fly in case seats were not filled.
The Exeter-based airline took the steps after failing to reach agreement with Norwich Airport on the terms of a deal on passenger numbers. Airport bosses have criticised Flybe for pointlessly damaging the environment. Flybe blamed airport bosses, saying they were ‘intransigent and greedy’.
The terms of the deal meant the airport would impose a £280,000 penalty if Flybe did not carry 15,000 passengers on the Norwich-to-Dublin route during the 2007-08 financial year. Flybe was 172 passengers short with the March 31 deadline approaching, and so took the steps to ensure it met the figure.
A spokesman for Flybe said it would ‘offset’ additional carbon emissions it had caused and that it had not needed to use actors to fill seats.
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