FLYBE has cancelled flights across the country – including to and from Southampton – for "operational reasons".

A flight from Edinburgh to Southampton was due to arrive at 8.55am but was cancelled this morning, while flights scheduled from Southampton to Newcastle at 7am and Edinburgh at 9.20am were both cancelled.

There were also reports that services from Belfast City Airport, Birmingham, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Newcastle did not fly.

A number of angry passengers have contacted the airline on social media to complain about the cancellations.

A Flybe statement says: "Flybe sincerely apologises to all our customers and partners affected by the current flight cancellations.

"Whilst 95% of Flybe flights are operating as per normal, we do recognise the impact of today's cnacellations.

"We are doing our best to mitigate the imapct of the current situation that has arisen due to a combination of factors including seasonality, pilots' end of year leave, Easter holidays, base restructuring, and the shortage of pilots across the industry, that Flybe has highlighted over recent months.

"We have already identified several mitigation actions and will be issuing further updates throughout the day.

"All those affected have been emailed and advised they can re-book for travel on an alternative flight or apply for a full refund."

The disruption comes just days after Flybe passengers on a new route were left with a six-hour coach journey after a service from Newquay to Heathrow was cancelled.