Efforts to improve aircraft reliability have hit to bottom line at a regional flight operator.

AIL Group, owner of BMI Regional and Logainair, which operate flights from Norwich Airport, made a loss before tax of £4.9m in the year ending March 31 2017.

This comprised a £5.77m loss at BMI, offset by a £3.05m profit at its sister company.

AIL Group said efforts to deliver an 'improved level of operational reliability' at Logainair had required 'continuing investment', which impacted profitability, but had helped it achieve 80% of flights running on time.

BMI fell on hard times after the terrorist attack in March 2016 in Brussels, where it operated flights for Brussels Airlines and ran routes to from the UK.

This financial year has seen the companies each scrap a route from Norwich – Loganair stopped its flights to Durham in December and BMI announced in January that its route to Aberdeen would be scrapped.