Under the group's "book with confidence guarantee", people who book flights, car hire and hotels in January and are travelling before October 24 will receive a full refund if they have to cancel their trip because they or a member of their party has been made redundant.

The free insurance policy is available to anyone who has been in continuous employment with the same employer for at least two years.

The group said it was providing the cover in response to the current economic pressures people faced and the high levels of job insecurity, which is likely to be a crucial issue for people's travel plans in 2009.

Mike Rutter, chief commercial officer at Flybe, said: "These are unprecedented times and Flybe wants to do our bit to keep the economy moving.

"That's why we're introducing our completely free redundancy cancellation cover so that consumers can book with us in January secure in the knowledge that if they lose their job before they travel, Flybe will give them a full refund."

Flybe serves Leeds Bradford airport and last year revealed plans to expand its presence there.