LONDON, England: Flybe, a British regional airline, abruptly closed operations on January 28.

The airline offered flight to Belfast, Birmingham and Heathrow across the UK, as well as to Amsterdam, Geneva and other European cities.

With offices in Birmingham, Flybe offered flights on 21 routes to 17 destinations across the UK and Europe, flying eight Q400 turboprop aircraft.

This was the second time in three years that Flybe ceased flying. The company employs a staff of 321.

In a statement, Flybe said it had entered administration, a form of protection from creditors.

"Flybe has now ceased trading and all flights from and to the UK operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled," the company said.

On its website, Flybe told customers holding tickets not to travel to airports.

It was also reported that about 75,000 Flybe customers had purchased future bookings.

Meanwhile, an industry observer noted that Flybe had struggled since its relaunch last year, and was harmed by the late delivery of 17 leased aircraft, preventing it from building capacity and remain competitive.

"It is always sad to see an airline enter administration and we know that Flybe's decision to stop trading will be distressing for all its employees and customers," said Paul Smith, the UK Civil Aviation Authority consumer director, as quoted by Reuters.