Southwest said Thursday it would recall another 382 pilots from a voluntary leave program as airlines prepare for a vaccine-led recovery in travel demand in the summer. The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying travel restrictions have hammered the aviation sector, but the mass rollout of vaccines is expected to drive a recovery this year. Southwest saidd that the pilots would return to active status on July 1. The low-cost airline said earlier this month it would recall 209 pilots and over 2,700 flight attendants from June 1 to support its summer schedule. <br/>
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Wizz Air has warned it expects only a slow recovery in flying in the late summer, in a sign that travel restrictions are on course to wreak havoc with airlines’ peak season. The Hungarian airline forecasts travel demand to pick up across Europe following “a period of good progress of national vaccination plans” in the coming months, but until then is flying only a handful of routes where there is strong demand. However, CE József Váradi remains confident the airline, which has expanded its footprint across western Europe in recent years, will emerge as a long-term winner from the pandemic as others retreat. “Our agility and relentless focus on costs and cash are significant competitive advantages,” he said on Thursday. “Our network expansion and the investments we have made in our fleet over the past 12 months ensures we are well placed for a return to normal operations and we are convinced we are now even better positioned to be a structural winner in the European aviation sector.” Johan Lundgren, easyJet’s chief executive, said on Wednesday he expected most countries in Europe to be put on the UK’s “green list”, which allows for quarantine-free travel from mid-May, when borders are scheduled to reopen.<br/>
Latvian national carrier airBaltic may seek state aid of E50-100m this year, due to the consequences of the pandemic, the carrier said in its annual report published on Thursday. It said uncertainty around when pandemic-related curbs on travel will be lifted and whether the group raises cash for its operations “represent a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt upon the Company’s and the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern”. airBaltic last year received a E250m injection from the state, which holds 96% of the company’s shares. It reported a loss of E265m last year, with revenues dropping by 72% from 2019, to E143m. “The Management believes that the arguments which justified the (previous) investment are still valid and would justify additional investment”, the group said in the report.<br/>
EC officials have confirmed that the Maltese Government has approached it over a possible state-aid package for national carrier Air Malta. The Times of Malta reports that Malta’s government sent a proposal to the Commission on 12 April detailing a five-year state-aid refinancing plan under which it would pump E290m into the struggling carrier. The airline’s challenges have been compounded by the hit to travel from the coronavirus crisis. European rules governing state aid have been temporarily relaxed to help counter the crisis caused by the pandemic and a number of government rescue aid packages for European airlines have since been approved by the Commission. <br/>
South Korean carrier Aero K has commenced scheduled domestic flights, becoming the country’s eighth low-cost carrier. The official launch of operations on 15 April comes more than three months since the carrier received its air operator’s certificate for international and domestic air transport operations. The carrier began operations with a sole Airbus A320ceo, a 14-year-old example registered HL8384. Its first flight was between Cheongju, a city south of Seoul which the carrier is based at, and the popular South Korean island of Jeju. Aero K intends to operate up to three A320s at the start of operations, with aircraft leased from Carlyle Aviation Partners. The start-up airline told Yonhap News Agency that it is “considering receiving” the remaining two jets in July, “depending on market conditions”. The airline plans to expand into international operations, flying to points in China, Taiwan and Vietnam. <br/>