Bmibaby will be grounded in September and some routes will be scrapped from next month, owner IAG has announced.
Consultation with trade unions begins today on proposals to review future options for bmibaby, including a proposal to close the airline in September this year.
Bmibaby transferred to IAG ownership last month as part of its purchase of BMI from Lufthansa. IAG has previously said that bmibaby and bmi Regional are not part of its long-term plans.
The airline said it would make reductions to its flying programme from June. All bmibaby flights to and from Belfast will cease from June 11 as well its services from East Midlands to Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Nice, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newquay, and from Birmingham to Knock and Amsterdam.
Peter Simpson, bmi interim managing director, said: “We recognise that these are unsettling times for bmibaby employees, who have worked tirelessly during a long period of uncertainty.
“Bmibaby has delivered high levels of operational performance and customer service, but has continued to struggle financially, losing more than £100m in the last four years. In the consultation process, we will need to be realistic about our options.
“To help stem losses as quickly as possible and as a preliminary measure, we will be making reductions to bmibaby’s flying programme from June. We sincerely apologise to all customers affected and will be providing full refunds and doing all we can with other airlines to mitigate the impact of these changes.”
Customers can continue to book summer holiday flights from East Midlands and Birmingham. Flights departing from September 10 will not be available to book.