FLYBE has threatened the States with legal action.

At a conference yesterday, chief commercial officer Mike Rutter declared the airline’s dismay over recent policy decisions.

During the meeting he warned deputies that the States’ decision not to deregulate air route licensing made the government vulnerable.

‘They have now opened themselves up to a legal challenge, possibly from ourselves, but Flybe is not the only airline that has not been treated consistently,’ he said.

He said the States opted to pick and choose carriers over different routes and had had an inconsistent policy over the last few years.

Mr Rutter told deputies that States control of the air route licensing regime was illegal, something he repeated in his formal presentation.

‘One of the drivers of deregulation was that the licensing regime exposed the States to legal challenge – this will now sadly come about.’

He added that the move would have been financially practical and cited the Isle of Man, where passenger numbers had risen by 10% since deregulation.

In July, the States rejected Commerce and Employment’s proposal to deregulate air route licensing.

But they backed it being overseen by the Office of Utility Regulation instead of the department.