BRITAIN’S largest regional airline is back in the black after five years of losses..

Flybe, which operates several routes out of Southampton Airport, announced profits before tax of £5.5m for 2015/16 compared to a £24m loss the previous year. Passenger numbers were up by 5.9 per cent to 8.2 million.

There was an 8.7 per cent increase in revenue to £632.8m coupled with a 4.2 per cent reduction (to £56.27) in the average cost of carrying each passenger..

During the year carrier launched 52 new routes including new services from Southampton to Munich and Lyon.

The firm say the results – the best in the firm’s history – have been made possible by driving down costs.

The efficiency strategy included a decision to buy rather than lease more aircraft.

In February Flybe acquired three Q400 aircraft, previously on operating leases, from Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) for £24.4m.

It also entered into a contract with Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) to cancel the lease of nine used Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft, while taking ownership of 10 Q400 aircraft it was under contract to lease, for £86m, with delivery to take place over the next 12 months.

Flybe now owns 27 of its 85-strong fleet of planes.

Chief executive Saad Hammad: “This year was the second full year of our three-year transformation plan and our performance has been very encouraging. We achieved profitability for the first time as a public company, following losses in every year since Flybe’s stock market flotation in 2010.”

Speaking earlier in the week, prior to the release of the figures, Mr Hammad told an audience at the first British Irish Airports Expo at Birmingham’s NEC that the government was holding back the UK aviation industry.

He contrasted the UK’s lack of strategy with the Irish Government which had published a National Aviation Policy in 2015.

High on the agenda was Air Passenger Duty (APD) that the Irish Government, like many others across Europe, has abolished.

Mr Hammad again called for it to be ditched completely or made more equitable.

He said that APD was levied disproportionately on regional flights and a typical domestic passenger could be charged up to 19 times the tax per mile of a passenger on a long-haul flight.

“APD is not just a barrier to regional development - it is also a barrier to tourism,” he said.

He also called on the UK government not to ignore the importance of regional aviation in favour of rail in its aspirations to create a Northern Powerhouse.

“The Government-funded £43 billion HS2 will not be able to fulfil this aspiration in the foreseeable future. It will not reach Manchester for at least 17 years! The Regional Air Connectivity Fund that focuses on start-up routes during their initial phases needs to be bigger,” he said.

“The Fund contributed only £7m this year to start-up regional routes. It also needs to fund permanent connectivity as well as additional frequency investments on existing regional air routes.”

Finally Mr Hammad urged the government to stop dragging its feet over the proposed expansion at either Heathrow or Gatwick.

When that decision is made, Mr Hammad requested that affordable slots for regional routes served by smaller aircraft be included in the increased capacity.