Airline boss accused over rebate

An airport boss today accused budget airline bosses of unnecessarily damaging the environment so that they could earn a rebate worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The managing director of Norwich International Airport in England said Flybe had put on last-minute extra flights, offered free trips and advertised for actors to be passengers in order to meet a deadline on a commercial deal.

Richard Jenner said that – as part of a deal with the airport – Flybe would qualify for a fee rebate if it flew a certain number of passengers from Norwich in the financial year ending on March 31.

He said the airline was short of its quota and was making last-gasp attempts to boost numbers in order to pocket the cash.

A spokeswoman for Flybe, which has a base in Exeter, Devon, said today: “That’s not something I have heard of.”