First and foremost, I have nothing but sympathy for all those people who are going to face the hardship that comes with the loss of a job. However, I make no apology for saying I also feel sorry for everyone in Northern Ireland whose holiday plans are now in shreds.
To begin with, schools here close for summer almost four weeks before english schools so families planning to holiday as soon as the term ends will have to make alternative arrangements very quickly. Their english counterparts do not have to worry about alternative arrangements for this summer's holiday. Their bmibaby flights to the sun will operate until the second week in September - about the time english schools begin the autumn term.
Secondly, Northern Ireland's traditional summer holiday fortnight begins at the end of the first week in July. Employees of businesses which close for this 14 day period will now have to find seats on flights operated by EZY or EI. At this stage, these fares are bound to be much higher than the costs of their original bookings.
Mrs FF and I returned from Faro earlier today - on EI - so I'm a bit out of touch. I would be interested to know how recently, bmibaby stopped taking bookings on its BHD routes for dates beyond June 11.