Flybe has sold its Gatwick Airport slots to Vueling and moved its Newquay flights to Heathrow Airport as the carrier is restructured after being bought by Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Aviation.
The regional carrier has agreed to sell a series of take-off and landing slots at Gatwick to Spanish budget carrier Vueling, owned by the International Airlines Group (IAG) in a deal priced at £4.5 million.
The slots relate to the current Gatwick-Newquay service. Flybe will transfer flights to Heathrow in March. IAG will pay the funds in two tranches, the first being receivable in the next few days.
The slots cover summer 2019 and subsequent summer seasons. The remainder of the payment is due in June in respect of slots to be used during winter 2019-20 and subsequent winter seasons.
Flybe said in a notice to the London Stock Exchange: “The remainder is due in June 2019 in respect of slots to be used during the winter season in 2019 and subsequent winter seasons.”
Last week, it was announced that cash-strapped Flybe was being bought for £2.2 million by a consortium including Virgin Atlantic and the Stobart Group.
Shareholders in Flybe will receive 1p a share, while the consortium, which also includes venture capital firm Cyrus, will inject £100 million into the airline.
