London (AFP)

The British government announced Tuesday that it had found a bailout deal with owners of the regional airline Flybe after several days of marathon talks to keep it from going bankrupt.

The regional airline employs more than 2,000 people and transports around 8 million passengers a year to 170 European destinations.

It has found itself on the verge of bankruptcy in recent days, a year after having already escaped it thanks to its takeover by the consortium of investors Connect Airways, which includes the company Virgin Atlantic and the funds Stobart and Cyrus.

"I am delighted that we have reached an agreement with the shareholders of Flybe to keep the company running, and to ensure that the UK regions stay connected," tweeted Andrea Leadsom, UK Minister for Business.

The announcement of Flybe's troubles had moved the British political class in recent days, many parliamentarians urging the government of Boris Johnson to intervene.

They assured that this company was essential to ensure the transit in many regions of the country where there is no high speed train and which would have been more isolated if Flybe had suddenly stopped operating.

A Flybe bankruptcy would also have been the second major in the airline industry after the resounding bankruptcy in September of tour operator Thomas Cook, who employed 9,000 people, most of whom lost their jobs.

Ms. Leadsom did not give details of the agreement reached and no spokesperson was immediately available. But local press said on Tuesday that the government is considering deferring payment of the British airline ticket tax until 2023, a tax boost of £ 100 million (€ 116.5 million). .

In return, the owners of Flybe will have to commit to injecting tens of millions of pounds into the company, which is accumulating the losses.

Prime Minister said on the BBC Tuesday morning that "it is not for the government to intervene and save businesses in trouble" while stressing that "we are aware of the importance of Flybe", in particular to provide connections throughout the UK.

According to the BBC, the government could even decide to reduce this tax on airline tickets for the entire aviation sector, in order to comply with European state aid rules and not give the impression of flying to the aid of one company in particular, which he has refused to do in recent years.

© 2020 AFP