The UK government has been urged to do “whatever it takes” to ensure the survival of Flybe, Europe’s largest regional carrier, as trade unions and MPs demanded the rescue of an airline that operates almost two in five British domestic flights.

The Exeter-based airline, which flies 8.5 million passengers a year between 56 airports across the UK and Europe, is seeking financial help from ministers to stave off a collapse that would put more than 2,000 jobs at risk.

The airline and government declined to comment on reports of ongoing talks between the carrier, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport, about whether the government might provide or facilitate emergency financing.

Sky News reported on Monday night that the business and transport secretaries and the chancellor will meet on Tuesday to discuss a Flybe request to defer a multimillion-pound air passenger duty bill in order to see the airline through the winter.

However, spokesmen from all three departments would only say: “We do not comment on speculation or the financial affairs of private companies.”

Mark Anderson, the chief executive of Connect, told Flybe staff in an email on Monday morning: “We continue to operate as normal … I do appreciate that the headlines are disturbing but I want you to know that we are determined to everything we can to make this work.

“What I now ask from all of us is that we all remain focused on our responsibilities and continue to work and support each other as a team to deliver what we know we can do.”

Trade unions and MPs said the airline provided crucial connectivity for the regions and demanded the government intervene. The pilots’ union, Balpa, said the government should do “whatever it takes” to save the carrier.

Brian Strutton, Balpa’s general secretary, said: “If Flybe didn’t exist, it would have to be invented. The importance of that regional connectivity cannot be overstated.”

He said cities such as Exeter, Southampton, Birmingham and Cardiff relied on Flybe for air links and economic prosperity, while Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man would also suffer if the routes suddenly disappeared.

“The government must recognise that the UK cannot afford to lose yet another airline, and the markets that Flybe serves cannot afford to lose their air connections which help businesses thrive. So we urge the government to take every possible action to keep Flybe flying.”

The shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, said: “Flybe is a hugely important airline for UK domestic aviation and its financial predicament is a real concern.”

Flybe is threatening to become the third significant airline collapse in the UK in less than two and a half years, following the failure of Monarch Airlines in October 2017 and Thomas Cook in September 2019.

Flybe has long struggled to balance the books and successive plans to revitalise and streamline its operations have only just kept it airborne. The airline was bought last February by a consortium led by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic. Connect Airways, which consists of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Air and Cyrus Capital, paid £2.2m for Flybe’s assets and operations. Flybe completed the sale in a deal worth only 1p per share after poor financial results. Prior to the deal the London-listed airline had made losses of almost £20m in 2017-18 and had warned investors it was expecting greater losses for 2018-2019.

Virgin Atlantic did not respond to requests for comment. The airline led last year’s deal so Flybe could feed more domestic passengers to connect with Virgin’s long-haul operation at Heathrow. The failure of Flybe even before its rebranding as Virgin Connect is complete would put Virgin’s wider expansion plans at Heathrow in question.

A Flybe spokeswoman said: “Flybe continues to focus on providing great service and connectivity for our customers, to ensure that they can continue to travel as planned. We don’t comment on rumour or speculation.”

Flybe’s fleet of mainly 80-seat planes serves 26 domestic destinations, providing fast links between parts of the UK where road and rail alternatives are slow, or unavailable – not least Northern Ireland to the mainland. One key route, London to Newquay, relies on state subsidy.

Its focus, however, on domestic routes with direct rail services, such as Manchester-Glasgow or Birmingham-Edinburgh, also puts it at the potential sharp end of any rising “flygskam” or flight-shaming trend. Improved journey times and reliability of new trains on the Great Western Railway from Exeter to London have also raised competition.

Unite the union said it was seeking an urgent meeting with the Exeter-based company. Its assistant general secretary for transport, Diana Holland, said: “The government must demonstrate that it has learned the lessons from the collapse of Monarch, which it failed to apply during the collapse of Thomas Cook.”

The Prospect union, which also represents Flybe staff, said the reports were troubling. Tony Bell, the national secretary, said: “As the main union at Flybe, Prospect will seek immediate talks with the company to clarify the situation. Flybe provides much-needed connectivity to many of our smaller and regional airports – it is important that that connectivity, and the skilled jobs it implies, is maintained.”

The St Austell and Newquay MP, Steve Double, said it was “very concerning news”. “Flybe is essential to Cornwall and many regional airports,” he said.

The Exeter MP, Ben Bradshaw, called on the government to help Flybe obtain the financial help it needs to keep running. He told Devon Live: “The priority must be to secure Flybe’s long-term future by restoring profitability. The airline provides valuable connectivity throughout the UK, vital for the regions, including our own, as well as good, skilled jobs and training locally.”

Local environmental groups argued that staff at Flybe should be supported into into new jobs in sustainable transport. Exeter Greens said: “Faced with a climate emergency, and flying principally domestic routes, [Flybe] is an environmentally and financially unsustainable business.”