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Man sent bailiffs to Luton Airport for Wizz Air refund

A passenger sent bailiffs to Luton Airport to confront Wizz Air over money owed to him after his family's flights were cancelled at the last minute. Russell Quirk said he was left with little choice but to find another route to Portugal which cost him GBP4,500. After months of waiting for Wizz Air reimbursement, he went to court and ended up sending in the bailiffs. Wizz Air paid up, apologised and said it "fell short of our own aspirations and our customers' expectations". The company is one of a number of budget airlines facing county court claims against them, as consumer magazine Which? first reported. The way customers have been treated by Wizz Air has been "shocking, shambolic and shoddy", Quirk, a property expert from Brentwood, in Essex, told the BBC. He had booked flights from Luton Airport to Faro in January last year for a family holiday with his wife and three daughters in the May half-term. He awoke early on the morning of their flight to find a message from Wizz Air saying it was cancelled. "There was no explanation, no alternative offered and no apology," he said. "I had to wake my three daughters and tell them we weren't going on holiday - they were very upset." With hotels, transfers and an airport lounge already paid for, he said the only viable option was to find another carrier, which the family took the following day. Those flights, together with money lost on a night in hotel rooms and other expenses, cost him £4,500, he said. Story has details.<br/>

Vueling to cease flying from Cork with concerns about Shannon route

Spanish low-cost airline Vueling looks set to pull out of both Cork and Shannon airports this summer. Cork Airport has confirmed that Vueling will cease operations from there in June. The airline currently operates twice weekly services between Cork and Paris Orly as well as Shannon and Paris Orly. A spokesperson for Cork Airport said: “Vueling will cease operations from Cork to Paris (Orly), with the last flight operating on June 11th. Cork Airport understands that the rationale behind the cessation of services is attributable to capacity issues in Paris (Orly), with the Cork – Paris (Orly) service being one of three routes that will cease operating.” The carrier has been contacted for comment. The Cork Airport spokesperson confirmed, however, that from later this month, Air France will offer a daily service from Cork to Paris (Charles de Gaulle); while in late September and October, Aer Lingus will also operate twice-weekly services to Charles de Gaulle to cater for rugby fans travelling to the Rugby World Cup.<br/>

Zambia Airways debuts int'l ops with Zimbabwe route

Zambia Airways launches international operations on March 28 with a regional route to Harare International, the capital of Zimbabwe, the airline announced on social media. The carrier's online schedule reveals that flights between Lusaka and Harare will run 3x weekly, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, using a DHC-8-Q400. This follows its recent announcement that it had secured long-awaited foreign operator permits. Plans to debut regional services in July 2022 were delayed by lengthy regulatory processes to obtain the FOPs, a situation eventually resolved when Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema stepped in to negotiate with his counterparts to the south. Other regional routes in the booking system - but not yet scheduled - are Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, Addis Ababa, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta and Mombasa, and Kinshasa N'Djili.<br/>

Jazeera Airways launches flights to three new European cities

Jazeera Airways, Kuwait’s leading low cost carrier is gearing up for the 2023 summer season with three new European destinations – Munich, Germany, Belgrade, Serbia and Tirana, Albania. In addition, the airline will also restart its flights to Prague, Czech Republic and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. With the new cities added to Jazeera’s network, the airline now serves 62 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Central & South Asia and Africa. Rohit Ramachandran, CEO, Jazeera Airways said: “At Jazeera we always endeavour to expand our network and offer passengers more affordable choices for direct flights from Kuwait. This summer, we have these great destinations in Europe on offer for the leisure market in Kuwait, as well as connecting passengers from around our network. We expect there will be a strong demand for all of them.” Munich, the Bavarian capital is a very popular leisure and business destination in Germany and offers a variety of activities for different interests – both outdoors or indoors. One of Europe's oldest cities, Belgrade is centrally located and one of the easiest places to reach in the Balkans.<br/>