FLYBE has been criticised by Norwich Airport for damaging the environment to avoid paying a commercial penalty.
The airline yesterday put on four extra return flights from Norwich to Dublin to make sure it reached a passenger target agreement. Flybe stood to be charged £280,000 by the airport if it failed to carry 15,000 passengers on the Dublin service during the 2007-8 financial year.
With yesterday’s deadline approaching, Flybe was 172 passengers short and offered a one-off payment of £50,000. Norwich Airport refused that so Flybe put on the extra flights to ensure it met its target. Richard Jenner, managing director at Norwich Airport, said the move did not seem to be in the spirit of the agreement.
‘But, more than anything, our concerns are about the unnecessary impact on the environment,’ he said.
But Flybe – which had even tried to hire actors to fly on the route to make up the numbers – hit back, claiming the airport was greedy.
‘Because of Norwich International Airport’s ridiculous, intransigent and downright greedy attitude, Flybe has been forced to lay on extra services to Dublin,’ said a spokesman.
He said that Flybe had a commercial agreement with the airport to fly 70,000 passengers from Norwich each year and, although it was short of passengers on the Dublin route, it had flown a total of 136,000 from NIA during the last 12 months.
‘Despite our flying record numbers from Norwich over the last year and despite our best efforts at compromises with NIA, their petty behaviour has left us with no choice other than to follow this path,’ he said.
‘Flybe will 100% offset the carbon caused by these flights and looks forward to remaining the biggest airline operating out of Norwich, even though the airport’s attitude to its largest customer puts this situation at risk.
‘Flybe is saddened to have to take this action but hopefully by laying out all the facts it can be seen that it has been left no option by Norwich Airport’s behaviour.’
No actors were used on yesterday’s flights but Flybe staff were put on stand-by to fly in case the airline did not reach its target with other passengers.
Article posted on 1st April, 2008 - 1.15pm
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