Wizz Air moves forward Tuzla - Vaxjo launch

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

EU okays Alitalia successor

EU competition regulators have given the green light to a slimmed down successor to Alitalia and said the new state-owned airline was not liable for repaying 900 million euros in illegal state aid received by its predecessor. The approval of Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) will be greeted with relief in Rome, which has been negotiating for months to prevent the decision on the 900 million euros of loans from hindering the launch of the new airline. Alitalia is unlikely to repay that aid, plus interest, as the carrier's coffers are empty and money it may collect from the sale of assets is not expected to be enough. ITA will operate with less than half of Alitalia's fleet of aircraft and will only be allowed to take over limited parts of its predecessor's handling and maintenance businesses. Alitalia's brand and its loyalty programme will be sold in an open tender, said the European Commission, which oversees the EU's competition policy. The new carrier is due to start flying in place of Alitalia on October 15 and plans to employ only a small part of its predecessor's 11.000 total workforce under a new, less generous labour contract. The uncertainty over the future of thousands of workers has sparked protests. The Italian government has set aside a total of 3 billion euros for ITA, but the Commission only gave a green light to an initial 1.35 billion euros capital injection by Rome into the carrier over the next three years.
Reuters

Wizz Air moves forward Tuzla - Vaxjo launch

NEWS FLASH

Low cost carrier Wizz Air has moved forward the launch of its new service between Tuzla and Vaxjo in southern Sweden. The route will commence a week early, on March 23, as a result of "strong bookings", Vaxjo Airport said in a statement. “We are delighted that Wizz Air have chosen Vaxjo Smaland Airport as their fourth gateway into Sweden and this flight will offer excellent connections between the regions around Tuzla and the south-eastern corner of Sweden. There is a large number of travellers today that make their way between the regions and with the launch of this new connection if will make it even easier for leisure traffic based around visiting relatives on the one hand, and opening up new business and tourism opportunities for both destinations on the other”, Vaxjo Airport General Manager, Ulf Axelsson, said. Services will run twice per week. Wizz Air will base a second aircraft in Tuzla next month. Besides Vaxjo, the no frills carrier will also launch flights to Bratislava, Cologne, Friedrichshafen and Nuremberg on March 27 and 28.

Comments