Take-offs & Landings
Team UAE fly for gold with Etihad
Etihad Airways hosted 32 members of the UAE Paralympic Committee on their journey to the 2020 Paralympic Games taking place in Tokyo, which opened on 24 August. 12 athletes will represent the United Arab Emirates in the sports of Athletics, Powerlifting, Cycling and Shooting.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi announces two new routes to Kazakhstan: Almaty and Nur-Sultan
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has announced the launch of its latest routes from Abu Dhabi to Almaty and Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, starting in mid-May 2021. Both new services will be operated twice-weekly, increasing Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s network to 15 routes.
Swiss to launch twice-weekly Billund-Zurich service
On 2 July 2021 the Toblerone will flow at Billund Airport as the inauguration of Swiss’ new flight to Zurich will take place. The route will initially be operated twice-weekly on Mondays and Fridays in July and August.
Lufthansa announces return to Newcastle with daily Frankfurt service
Lufthansa will return to North-East England with the launch of a new daily service between its Frankfurt hub and Newcastle International Airport on 28 June 2021.
Cornwall Airport Newquay to London Heathrow and beyond – Flybe gives Cornwall global access
On 31 March Flybe launched a four times daily service between Cornwall Airport Newquay and London Heathrow, with it opening up Cornwall to the world by initiating flights to Europe’s biggest hub. To celebrate the new route, a special event ceremony was held at London Heathrow, with anna.aero in attendance.
anna.aero joins London Luton and Wizz Air as they celebrate the airline’s first A321neo service; also confirms 60th route from airport
anna.aero’s Aviation Development Editor Jonathan Ford travelled to London Luton on Friday 15 March to celebrate, along with Wizz Air, the carrier’s first day of A321neo operations into the London airport. Take a look to see how celebrations got underway, and to learn more on the carrier’s growth at it’s biggest base.
Wizz Air to base third A320 in Kutaisi and open six new routes; results in a total of 27 routes for 2019 and over one million seats
On 1 February, Wizz Air confirmed that from August it will base a third aircraft in Kutaisi and launch six new routes to Bari, Basel, Brussels Charleroi, Copenhagen, Eindhoven and Tallinn. Jonathan Ford looks at the airline’s development from Kutaisi and gives more in-depth knowledge of the routes being launched.
Cornwall Airport Newquay secures key London Heathrow hub link
22 November: Cornwall Airport Newquay announced that it had secured the return of a long sought-after link to London Heathrow. Flybe will commence flights on 31 March 2019. Reconnecting the UK regions was a vital argument in getting Parliamentary approval for Heathrow Expansion last summer.
Wizz Air to open Krakow base, stationing two A321s and opening 12 routes; leading airport in CEE nations not yet served by carrier
On 21 November Wizz Air announced that it will begin its first-ever flights from Krakow Airport, commencing in 2019. It will base two A321s and open up 12 new routes. Jonathan Ford looks further into the base details, and highlights some reasons as to why Wizz Air has made this move.
Turkish Airlines launches operations from new Istanbul Airport
Turkish Airlines took the first steps in the planned transfer of its hub operation from Atatürk to the new Istanbul Airport on 31 October, when it began operations to two destinations. Two more routes were added the following day, with all operations due to switch by 31 December. Nick Preston investigates.
Tchadia Airlines takes flight from Chad with an initial network of 11 routes; will increase seat capacity from Chad this winter by 56%
Tchadia Airlines commenced operations from N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, on 1 October. The carrier is currently operating two Q400s across a network of 11 routes. Jonathan Ford looks further into the initial operations of this Ethiopian Airlines-backed carrier to see what it will offer over the course of this winter.
Ryanair to launch French bases at Bordeaux and Marseille in S19; anna.aero’s predictions prove correct
In January, Ryanair indicated that France was foremost in its thoughts for potential new operating bases and anna.aero predicted the four French airports most likely to host a hub. On 27 September the ULCC confirmed that two of these airports, Bordeaux and Marseille, will become bases in time for S19.