Wizz Air has announced that its new Maltese subsidiary will be led by former Ryanair executive Diarmuid O Conghaile. The low-cost group expects to launch the new unit “later this year”, it said on 15 August, with O Conghaile becoming managing director from 1 November, having stepped down from his role at the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA). “Wizz Air Malta is at the cusp of an exciting journey and the establishment of this new subsidiary will help to reinforce Wizz Air’s strong position and support its ambitious expansion plans in Europe,” says group CE Jozsef Varadi. O Conghaile previously led Ryanair’s Maltese operation, Malta Air, through to January 2021, when he became CE designate of the IAA. He had joined Ryanair in 2016, initially as director of public affairs, from an executive role at Irish airports operator DAA. Malta’s taxation regime and aircraft registration regulations in particular make it an attractive place to base airlines and fleets.<br/>
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Iraqi Airways has issued a request for proposals for wet-leased or ACMI aircraft for operations to Europe amid a continued blacklisting of the carrier by the EC. Hoping to take advantage of a provision in the blacklisting that allows banned carriers to undertake operations via wet-lease agreements with other airlines, Iraqi Airways issued an RFP on 13 August seeking applicants with rights to fly in European airspace and land at airports in the region. Applicants “must own several airplanes”, the document says, of no more than 15 years old. The Baghdad-based operator suggests European and non-European airlines would be considered for the flights, which would be operated to and from Iraq. Initially based on a one-year contract, Iraqi Airways forecasts an average of 150 flying hours per month. When Iraqi Airways received its second Airbus A220-300 earlier this year, the country’s transport ministry said it had been holding discussions with EU representatives on resolving the safety concerns that have kept the airline on the Commission blacklist since December 2015, but it remains on the roll call of banned operators.<br/>