Flybe said there would be no cancellations today after about 5% of its flights were grounded yesterday, due to pilot shortages with some taking leave ahead of the busy Easter holiday period. 

Recently sold Flybe, which flies more than 210 routes across 15 countries, said it had cancelled 32 flights from airports, including Belfast, Southampton, Birmingham and Aberdeen.

Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital bought Flybe earlier this year in a deal which bailed out the struggling airline at a price that some shareholders criticised as far too cheap. 

The airline, which carries 8 million passengers a year between 81 airports across Europe, has apologised to affected customers. 

The company said it had put in place a number of contingency plans to minimise future disruption, but did not provide further details on what action it had taken. 

It said affected customers could re-book their travel on an alternate flight or apply for a full refund. 

In a separate statement, the airline said it would stop flying its Embraer 195 jets out of four airports in Britain as part of a previously announced move to reduce its aircraft fleet. 

The airline will end flights by the jets from Cardiff, Doncaster, Exeter and Norwich, starting in the winter of 2019. It will continue operating its 78-seat Bombardier Q-400. 

The Unite union said talks on proposals to lay off 38 pilots and 52 cabin crew were due to begin on April 10. 

The redundancies are linked to Flybe's proposals to close Cardiff and Doncaster bases from October 1, the union added.