The airline, which has largely struggled since it went public back in 2010, swung to an annual pre-tax profit of £2.7 million, compared with a loss of £23.6 million last year.

Key to the carrier’s success last year was a 4.2% reduction in cost per seat, which dropped to £52.67. It was also able to increase revenue by 8.7% to £623.8 million.

Over the past couple of years Flybe has sought to remix its fleet by both increasing the amount of owned aircraft and changing to more suitable models.

During 2015-16, Flybe resolved one of its key legacy issues by redeploying its remaining E195 aircraft on regional routes in arrangements with regional airports. This helped the airline reduce its outstanding financial liability by 50% to £40 million.

“As a result of all the action we have taken, Flybe is now a much more resilient business and well positioned for profitable growth,” said chief executive Saad Hammad.

“We are pleased with this performance and confident that we are well placed to navigate the current industry challenges with the strongest balance sheet in our history and a disciplined organisation which is already taking cost and capacity actions to support profit growth in the coming year.”