Nine routes axed by Flybe at Southampton Airport

Nine routes have been axed by Flybe at Southampton Airport, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.

Flybe, soon to be called Virgin Connect, is Southampton's biggest airline.

Neil Garwood, Managing Director, Southampton Airport

The routes which have been cut are:

  • Faro

  • Palma

  • Alicante

  • Malaga

  • Biarritz

  • Nantes

  • Bordeaux

  • Düsseldorf

  • Bastia

Despite the cuts, the airline has announced increased frequency of flights to Edinburgh, Newcastle and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Archive/PA Images

It comes after the airport submitted major expansion plans in October.

Proposals include:

  • Lengthening the runway by 164 metres, to allow bigger planes

  • 600 extra car parking spaces

  • It will allow the airport to increase passenger numbers by 50% to 3 million - over the next five to ten years

Credit: Tim Goode/PA

Flybe was sold earlier this year for just under £3 million after fears it would go bankrupt.

The business will be run as an independent company under the Virgin brand called 'Virgin Connect'.