Norwegian has tempered plans, reported in early May, that it was about to dismiss 1,191 employees, or 85% of its workforce in Spain, and has reduced the required number of required redundancies to 975, the Unión Sindical Obrera said June 14. The airline, which emerged from a convoluted bankruptcy late last month, has reached an agreement with Spanish unions after what USO described as “difficult” negotiations, to maintain 234 jobs at its bases in Alicante and Malaga, allowing these bases to stay open. USO on behalf of the cabin crew and the pilots’ union SEPLA claimed that they had managed to reduce the number of staff affected by Spain’s collective dismissal mechanism. “This agreement reduces by 200 cabin crew and 16 pilots the workers who were initially going to be included in the ERE announced by the company, going from 1,191 workers affected to 975. In this way, 200 relocations for cabin crew will be offered in the Oslo Gardermoen base, together with financial compensation for the transfer and an employment guarantee,” the cabin crew union said. For the 975 laid-off employees there will be severance pay equivalent to 30 days for every year worked, which is ten days more than the legal minimum of 20, the Spanish news agency EFE reported. Assignment to the ERE will initially be voluntary and then forced, until the numbers agreed are covered.<br/>
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After more than a year of disrupted travel, Emirates plans to put its A380s back in the sky. From July 15, Emirates will ramp up superjumbo services between Dubai and Jordan, ahead of the Eid Al Adha holidays. With space for more than 400 passengers, the Dubai airline's mammoth jets were used regularly at the start of the coronavirus pandemic to operate repatriation flights, helping stranded travellers return home. Since then, it's been a waiting game for the world's largest passenger jets, with the majority of the aircraft temporarily grounded by Emirates. Having restarted A380 flights to a handful of destinations, Emirates plans to resume more super-jumbo services as travel restrictions ease and vaccination rates ramp up around the world. In addition to adding more A380 flights to Jordan, Emirates will also boost its double-decker network over the summer, operating routes to 15 cities on 129 weekly services.<br/>
flydubai has announced plans to start a twice-weekly service to Ankara Esenboga International Airport from July 29. Ankara will become flydubai’s second destination in Turkey after Istanbul which is currently served with a daily flight. flydubai also added two destinations in Turkey to its seasonal summer schedule. The carrier operates two weekly flights from Terminal 2, Dubai International to Milas-Bodrum Airport and to Trabzon Airport between June and September. Commenting on the launch of operations, Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said: “flydubai’s first flight to Turkey landed exactly 11 years ago in Istanbul. We have since grown our network to four unique destinations offering our passengers from the UAE and the region greater choice for the summer and around the year. We look forward to doubling the frequency of our operations to Ankara for the winter schedule as demand for travel continues to gradually grow.”<br/>
Nigerian start-up carrier Green Africa Airways has been forced to postpone initial services, after a delay to its air operator’s certificate. The Lagos-based regional operator had been aiming to commence flights on 24 June across a network of seven domestic destinations using ATR turboprops. But while it has been in the final stages of securing its AOC, the airline states that it has agreed with the Nigerian civil aviation authority to delay its first services. The carrier says customers who have already booked flights will be able to transfer them, free of charge, to dates “starting August”.<br/>
AirAsia Group's CEO said the aviation industry could return to normal next year as international borders gradually reopened, state news agency Bernama reported on Saturday. Tony Fernandes also called for better government policies to avoid disruptions when travel resumed, and decisions on what would be required to open up borders, including documents needed to travel. "I think that will be sorted out by September or October when we allow interstate travel and some international flying," he was quoted saying in a webinar.<br/>