NEWS REPORT

               Coronavirus crisis drags down FlyBe

UK airline Flybe collapsed Thursday as a slump in demand for flightsbecause of the novel coronavirus outbreak dealt the final blow to the struggling carrier. 

Flybe told customers that it has grounded all flights as it enters administration, adding that its business in the United Kingdom had "ceased trading with immediate effect."

"If you are due to fly with Flybe, please DO NOT TRAVEL TO THE AIRPORT unless you have arranged an alternative flight with another airline," the company told customers in a statement Thursday. "Please note that Flybe is unfortunately not able to arrange alternative flights for passengers."

The Exeter-based budget carrier was founded in 1979 and at one point was Europe's largest independent regional airline, carrying 8 million passengers a year and operating more than 200 routes.The airline had been struggling for a while.

But Flybe's financial challenges had been "compounded by the outbreak of coronavirus which in the last few days has resulted in a significant impact on demand," the airline said in a statement widely reported by UK media.

1. WHO - FlyBe was a British airline based in exeter, England. Until its sale to connect airways  in 2019, it was the largest independent regional airline in Europe. Flybe provided more than half of UK domestic flights outside London.
2. WHAT - Regional airline Flybe went into administration on Thursday after a bid for fresh funding failed.
3. WHY-The business has struggled for years, but the spread of coronavirus has been cutting passenger numbers for every airline, unfortunately Flybe couldn’t cope as they were already nearly going bust from not having the financial support  they needed.