Failed Flybe set for new takeoff Aviation regulator grants company controlled by Lucien Farrell's hedge fund an operating licence but landing slots must first be transferred 14 April 2021 • 5:00pm Flybe is close to taking off once again after regulators granted the airline permission to return to the skies. Mr Farrell’s Mayfair fund bought Flybe’s brand and other assets from administrators EY last October amid plans to “restore essential regional connectivity in the UK”. Cyrus was a shareholder in Flybe alongside Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic when what had been Europe’s biggest regional airline collapsed in March 2020. Jon Peachey, who previously led Sir Richard’s US operations, is a director of the new company that recently changed its name from Thyme OpCo to Flybe Limited.