US discounter Allegiant Air will close its crew base at Austin-Bergstrom International airport early next year due to the planned closure of the Central Texas hub’s South Terminal. Allegiant told FlightGlobal on 24 June that it will continue operating in Austin but stop basing crews and aircraft there on 7 January. “Because of the South Terminal’s closure, Allegiant will eventually relocate to the main terminal,” the carrier says. ”Unfortunately, the gate space we have been offered will not allow us to sustain our base at [Austin].” ”However, we will continue to serve Austin with all flights operating as turns from other bases,” adds Allegiant. The ultra-low-cost carrier currently operates flights to more than 20 destinations throughout the USA, including its home base in Las Vegas and a host of secondary cities such as Bozeman, Eugene, Louisville and Provo. Austin’s South Terminal is not connected with the airport’s main terminal, and is slated for closure in early 2026 to accommodate “new airfield infrastructure”, according to Austin-Bergstrom International. Allegiant has served Austin since 2013 and opened its crew base there in November 2021. The airline invested $75m into the base as it explored ways to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that it would create 89 “high-wage” jobs and position three of its Airbus A320s in Austin. <br/>
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WestJet guests can now gain direct access to Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) from five Canadian airports through the expansion of WestJet's long-standing partnership with Condor Airlines. Expanding upon the airlines' previous interline agreement, WestJet and Condor will codeshare for the first time in their 10-year partnership. WestJet, under the agreement, will sell itineraries on flights operated by Condor from Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax to Frankfurt with the ease of a single ticket and through checked baggage, earning WestJet Dollars throughout. Additionally, Condor guests looking to explore Canada can take advantage of WestJet's domestic network with the same benefits. WestJet will also provide connectivity to the United States for Condor guests connecting through Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax later this summer. "Through the expansion of our partnership with Condor Airlines, we are unlocking amazing opportunities for our guests in Europe and Canada to access an extensive list of tourism destinations on both sides of the Atlantic," said John Weatherill, WestJet Group EVP and CCO. "Our shared passion for affordable leisure travel has allowed our partnership to evolve to meet the growing demand for transatlantic travel, and we look forward to welcoming the world to Canada this summer."<br/>
Aer Lingus and Irish Air Line Pilot's Association (IALPA) have accepted invitations by Ireland's Labour Court to attend separate meetings on Tuesday. Earlier, the tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) has described the Aer Lingus pay dispute as "shocking", adding that the needs of the Irish travelling public were being ignored by both sides.<br/>In a statement, Aer Lingus said the Labour Court requested it to provide a briefing on the pilot pay dispute, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported. Thousands of passengers face uncertainty over the next week as pilots begin industrial action in a dispute over pay. At least 244 Aer Lingus flights have now been cancelled. Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported that Micheál Martin has appealed to the Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (IALPA) and Aer Lingus management to "get around the table" on the basis of an existing interim recommendation from Ireland's Labour Court. Members of the IALPA begin an indefinite work-to-rule period from Wednesday and will also take part in a further eight-hour strike on Saturday 29 June.<br/>
Lufthansa Group’s latest carrier Lufthansa City Airlines will launch flights on 26 June using an Airbus A320neo on the Munich-Birmingham route. The new airline, which is being established to operate feeder flights into Lufthansa’s network from Frankfurt and Munich, will initially serve four domestic destinations – Bremen, Cologne, Dusseldorf and Hannover – in addition to Birmingham with its first aircraft. It will then add flights to Berlin, Bordeaux and Hamburg when it introduces its second aircraft – an A319 – from 27 July. Lufthansa City Airlines managing director Jens Fehlinger says: ”Lufthansa City Airlines is committed to successfully positioning itself in the European short and medium-haul segment from Munich and Frankfurt. A major investment in the future that will strengthen Germany as an aviation location and create numerous attractive jobs.” The unit will begin with five A320 family jets and a further eight aircraft - a mix of A320neos and A319s – will join the fleet over the coming year. Longer term the group has ordered 40 Airbus A220-300s for the operation, deliveries of which begin in 2026. Lufthansa City Airlines also has plans to serve Manchester this year, while it identifies Barcelona, Belgrade, Bilbao, Bucharest, Dublin, Gothenburg, Helsinki, Krakow, Oslo, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Prague, Ljubljana, Luxembourg, Lyon, Sofia, Toulouse and Zagreb as potential destinations for next year.<br/>
Dubai-based airline Emirates has set its sights on expanding its network to four more cities in mainland China, part of a growing number of Middle Eastern carriers wanting to cash in on aviation opportunities by increasing flights to the country. Emirates chief Tim Clark told the Post in Dubai earlier this month that the company hoped to extend its reach into the mainland but was waiting for Beijing to give it the go-ahead. He was speaking on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of airline trade body the International Air Transport Association (IATA). “We’d like to go to lots of destinations in China, but it’s up to the Chinese government,” he said, adding that there were four new cities Emirates could “go to immediately” and that the central government was aware of the company’s ambitions. With a global network spanning more than 140 destinations across six continents, the carrier at present operates three daily flights between Dubai and Hong Kong – two direct services and one via Bangkok – with 35 weekly flights to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. It also has six regional points via Guangzhou through its partnership with China Southern Airlines. The company also offers routes to other destinations on the mainland through its interline agreements with Air China, China Eastern and Cathay Pacific.<br/>
Several Russian air transport companies including Ural Airlines and the airports operator Novaport have been newly included in a revised European Union list of sanctioned enterprises. The European Commission unveiled an updated package of restrictive measures – imposed over the Ukrainian conflict – on 24 June. Ural Airlines, which is based in Ekaterinburg, is accused of “supporting materially” the conflict by transporting military personnel during mobilization. The Commission adds that Ural Airlines established a “special ticket-selling scheme” with the Russian ministry of defence. Novaport operates, or has interests in, over 20 Russian airports, among them facilities in Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, Volgograd, Perm and Kaliningrad. But the Commission states that some of the airports are in shared use with the Russian air force, while others support commercial flights to the Crimean city of Simferopol – a Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia. Outsize freight specialist Volga-Dnepr Group, and several of its senior figures and shareholders, has been included on the sanctions list. The Commission claims the company has been “playing a crucial role” in serving the Russian military-industrial complex through provision of air transport services.<br/>
T'way Air, Air Premia and Korean Air are facing safety probes from the transport ministry amid their repeated flight delays, which have caused massive inconveniences to hundreds of passengers, according to government officials and aviation industry watchers Monday. The latest in a series of such controversies was sparked by a Korean Air flight from Incheon to Taiwan's city of Taizhong on Saturday afternoon. The passenger jet carrying 125 passengers made an emergency return about halfway through its trip, after an equipment defect was detected. The airline ended up delaying the flight to the following day. Other airlines also caused discomfort to customers for their similar flight delays. T'way Air, a Seoul-based low-cost carrier (LCC), has particularly drawn a huge backlash for its frequent delays, raising doubts as to whether the company is qualified to launch four European routes soon. The carrier won the license as part of a precondition for Korean Air's takeover of Asiana Airlines. T'way Air came under fire for delaying a total of five flights only for the past two weeks. The airline's flight from Osaka to Incheon on June 13 was delayed for 11 hours due to a defect. Air Premia has also drawn criticism for its frequent flight delays. The LCC has rescheduled its overseas flights repeatedly for reasons — such as maintenance of its aircraft.<br/>