REGIONAL airline Flybe has announced plans to close two bases in Scotland and axe more than 100 jobs north of the Border as it presses ahead with a drive to cut unprofitable routes.
The Exeter-based carrier announced on Tuesday it was set to make around 500 redundancies across the UK, and a breakdown of where posts were expected to be shed revealed yesterday one in four would be lost in Scotland.
Following talks with union representatives, the company said it was proposing closing two of its four Scottish bases - Aberdeen and Inverness - together with Newcastle, Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey.
The closure of Inverness would result in 35 job losses, with Aberdeen facing 12 redundancies.
Flybe expects to continue operating flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, although both will face staff cuts.
In a statement yesterday, Flybe said 37 posts would be axed at Glasgow with a further 49 jobs cut at Edinburgh Airport.
The first wave of redundancies will come in January, with the rest in March next year.
It takes the total Scottish job losses to 133 from a UK total of 493. The airline employs 315 staff in Scotland.
Chief executive, Saad Hammad, said: "We are committed to connecting the UK's regions and we intend to continue flying to these airports after the base closures.
"I know these proposals are creating great personal uncertainty, but they are necessary to secure a long-term future for Flybe and I am grateful to the various union and staff representatives for the very constructive manner in which we have been able to commence the consultation process. I hope the detail of the proposed base closures and staff cuts will further assist that process."
The cuts come after Flybe unveiled plans in January to axe about 21% of its UK workforce under a strategy which aims to save £40 million in 2013-14, rising to £50m the year after.
So far, 350 staff have been made redundant, 95% on a voluntary basis, while 300 have been transferred to Flybe's outsourced operations.
Mr Hammad, who streamlined the senior management structure team at Flybe after succeeding Jim French in August, said the initial strategy "did not go far enough". He added the company had a "strong core of routes" which it wished to retain, but was being weighed down by a "significant number" of unprofitable routes which had to be scrapped.
The Flybe boss has also attacked the "punitive effect" of air passenger duty on domestic airlines. The company has lobbied the UK Government to reduce the charge, which added to the cost of all airline tickets for flights taking off from UK airports, and plans to publish a report in January outlining an alternative proposal to the tax.
Earlier this year, Flybe offloaded its Gatwick slots to easyJet for £20m, which led to the Luton-based budget airline taking over the route between Inverness and the London airport.
In its statement, Flybe said it had "constructive" talks with representatives from the unions - the British Airlines Pilots Association, Unite and Prospect.
It added: "To provide transparency across the business, the company will publish details of the proposed base closures and proposed reductions in employee numbers that form part of the consultation process."
Exeter is taking the bulk of the job cuts with 116 redundancies in view. The remaining 269 job cuts are shared between Belfast City, Birmingham, Guernsey, Southampton, Newcastle, Jersey and Isle of Man.
The move comes just two weeks after BMI Regional announced it would be pulling out of its base at Edinburgh Airport in January next year, leading to the loss of two European routes.
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