The Scottish airline Loganair has announced plans to take over 16 routes formerly flown by Flybe, including services linking Exeter with Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle.

The airline has also opened a special recruitment line for former Flybe employees who would like to continue their aviation careers with Loganair.

Exeter Airport-based Flybe announced this morning that it has ceased trading and gone into administration.

All flights have been cancelled.

The Loganair flights between Edinburgh and Exeter will start on Monday, March 23 and will run daily, except for Wednesdays.

Daily flights between Glasgow and Exeter start on Monday, March 30, and daily flights between Newcastle and Exeter start on Monday, July 6.

All are priced at £54.99 one way, and are already on sale at www.loganair.co.uk and via travel agent systems.

Customers formerly booked on Flybe services on the same routes will need to make new bookings at www.loganair.co.uk, and obtain a refund via their payment card provider for tickets booked with Flybe. In common with all other airlines, Loganair has no access to Flybe systems or customer data to be able to facilitate re-bookings.

Loganair will be recruiting for additional pilots, cabin crew and engineers to be based at its Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle airports to support the expansion.

It is expected that over 100 new positions will be created across the four locations, and Loganair will be prioritising applications from former Flybe staff for all of these roles.

There will also be a small number of new head office support roles.

Former Flybe team members interested in joining Loganair are asked to e-mail their CV and a covering letter or note to a special recruitment address, flyberecruitment@loganair.co.uk.

A dedicated team has been established within Loganair to prioritise employment of former Flybe staff into new roles being created at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle airports.

Loganair's chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: "The plan represents the outcome of several weeks of behind-the-scenes contingency planning work, during which we've evaluated many routes and aircraft.

"It's critical to the continued success of our own airline that we refrain from over-expansion, and that our growth can be delivered within our operational and financial means.

"I am confident that the plans being announced today are robust and sustainable, enabling former Flybe customers to benefit from Loganair's high standards of customer service and on-time performance on a range of new routes, with a strong emphasis on those to and from our Scottish heartlands."