Turbulence from Europe buffets Flybe

REGIONAL airline Flybe flew further into trouble on Friday, cutting its revenue forecast in the face of a decline in business passengers to recession-hitEurope.

Shares shed 14 per cent to 64.5p as the airline said passenger numbers in its UK operations were down by 3 per cent in the three months to the end of June, although group revenues were kept ahead thanks to its recent expansion into Finland.

It said the challenges in the UK and eurozone economies meant that group revenue for current year was likely to be flat or at best grow by 2 per cent, below previous expectations.

Flybe’s Scots-born chief executive Jim French said: “2012-13 is proving to be another very challenging year in the European regional aviation sector with continued weak consumer markets and stubbornly high oil prices.”