Flybe boss calls for air passenger duty to be cut

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The chief executive of airline Flybe has said a tax levied on pbadengers needs to be cut the company's future strategy is to succeed.

Christine Ourmieres-Widener puts on staff at Cardiff Airport on Thursday after talks.

She said Flybe's strategy was not better connect UK airports but air pbadenger duty (APD) did not support this.

Ms Ourmieres-Widener would not say how many Cardiff jobs were under threat.

'Personal impact'

"We are still working with our employees, so it's just started yesterday, what their capacity is for mobility for other opportunities," she said.

"So I do not have the numbers today, but will ounce the outcome of the consultation [is clear] but we will try as hard as possible to mitigate the personal impact. "

Ms Ourmieres-Widene added that the airline wanted to continue to operate routes from Cardiff.

However, she said: "We think APD is definitely not supporting the growth of regional connectivity … Without APD we could grow more in the UK."

Cardiff Airport boss Deb Barber said: "This is about the jets across the Flybe fleet, not about the threat to the continuation of operations from Cardiff."

She added the airport was already lobbying over APD and working with airlines and other airports.

The Welsh Government said it would give Cardiff an unfair advantage over rivals.

Flybe's destinations from Cardiff include Paris, Rome, Munich, Milan, Geneva and Dublin.