Two Spirit Airlines agents were injured and one was hospitalized after a dispute over carry-on bags with three passengers turned violent on Sunday, according to a Spirit Airlines spokesman. Flight 646 from Detroit to Atlanta was boarding when the agents asked the passengers to verify that their carry-on bags were the appropriate size for the aircraft, Spirit Airlines spokesman Field Sutton said. The passengers then became "combative," according to Sutton, and the agents "attempted to calmly defuse the situation but were physically assaulted by these passengers as they closed a door to stop them from boarding the aircraft." "This violent behavior is completely unacceptable and has absolutely no place in airports or any other place of business," said Sutton. "All of us at Spirit wish the agents a speedy recovery and thank them for their courage and professionalism."<br/>
unaligned
Icelandair Group is to sell its tour operator subsidiary Iceland Travel, as part of the continuing concentration on its flight operations activities. The wholly-owned subsidiary had been classified, along with hotel firm Icelandair Hotels, as an asset held for sale in 2019. Icelandair Group sold a 75% share in the hotel operation to Berjaya Property Ireland and closed the transaction, with a profit of $15.4m, in April last year. The company says it has “decided to initiate” the process to sell Iceland Travel. “During the sales process, the objective will be to maximise the value of the company, while at the same time preserving the interests of Icelandic tourism, the company’s employees and other stakeholders,” it states.<br/>
South Korea’s budget airline industry is poised for a seismic change this year, with two new players ready to enter the competition amid a pandemic-induced market consolidation. Aero K, one of the two, is set to begin operations next month. “Our first Cheongju-Jeju flight is scheduled on Feb. 19 after receiving permission for the route from the Transport Ministry yesterday,” one Aero K official said. Two round-trip Airbus A320 flights between Cheongju Airport and Jeju Airport will take off every day, said the official at the Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province-based airline. The other new entrant is Air Premia, which according to industry sources is expected to receive an air operators’ certificate and acquire a Boeing 787-9 aircraft sometime next month. The airline declined to give a more detailed timeline for its service commencement. In March 2019, Air Premia was given a license to operate domestic air transport services from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on condition that it apply for an air operators’ certificate within the next year and have its air travel routes registered within the next two years. The plan, however, could be delayed due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources predicted. Air Premia has touted itself as a “hybrid service carrier” offering medium- and long-haul flights to Vietnam, Japan and Hong Kong as well as Los Angeles and San Jose, California. Their entry is expected to add more fuel to the competition in the local budget airline market, where a proposed three-way merger would create a new dominant player. Story has more.<br/>