THE operator of Southampton Airport has said the collapse of Flybe is "sad" - as it issued guidance to passengers.

AGS Airports is urging would-be travellers to check the Civil Aviation Authority website after all flights were cancelled on Saturday.

The airline was one of several flying from Southampton Airport, which is eyeing increasing its number of passengers to three million a year by 2029 under runway expansion plans.

Airport boss Steve Szalay previously told the Echo of his hopes to build the regional transport hub up to having 2,000 staff and attract an influx of new businesses.

Key to its growth - with the runway extension approved and work set to start this year - is bringing in new routes.

Mr Szalay is tasked with boosting passenger numbers up from a Covid slump of 200,000 amid the Covid crisis in 2021.

READ MORE: Airport seeks three million passengers a year

Airlines using Southampton Airport include Aer Lingus, British Airways, Eastern Airways, KLM, Loganair and Tui.

Destinations covered include Alicante in Spain, Amsterdam, Belfast, Dublin, Geneva in Switzerland and the Channel Islands.

A spokesperson for AGS Airports said: "We have been informed of the sad news that Flybe has entered administration meaning all of the airline's flights have now been cancelled.

"The advice to passengers who were scheduled to travel with Flybe from Southampton is to visit the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) website for further advice.

"Information can be found at caa.co.uk/news and on the CAA's Twitter feed @UK_CAA."

The company owns and manages Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton airports.

One Facebook user reacting to the news said: "What was once known as Flymaybe is once more Flywontbe. Very sad as it’s another hit on our local airport."

Another added: "How sad and I’m sorry for all the staff who have woken up to the news. Sad day for aviation once again."

The CAA made the announcement Flybe had gone into administration for the second time in three years, asking passengers booked on Flybe flights not to travel to airports.

Flybe was pushed into administration in March 2020 with the loss of 2,400 jobs as the Covid-19 pandemic destroyed large parts of the travel market, but returned to the skies in April.

Its business and assets were purchased in April 2021 by Thyme Opco, which is linked to US hedge fund Cyrus Capital, and Thyme Opco was renamed Flybe Limited and based at Birmingham Airport.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article on the Daily Echo. Your support means we can bring you the latest breaking news, exclusive Saints features and coverage - and much more.

Digital subscribers get unrestricted access to all of our stories, our dedicated app including e-version of the newspaper, and an advertising-light website.

If you want all the latest articles delivered straight to your inbox you can join the thousands of subscribers who are signed up to our newsletters.

They include our popular daily morning news briefing, breaking news, crime and court, and Southampton FC bulletins - plus business, heritage and our what's on newsletters.