Readers will know that I regularly say that these are unusual times for the airline industry.
We see a classic example in the case of Gibraltar where over past months three airlines announced they would launch flights …which haven’t materialised long-term
Airlines make a lot of noise when they launch routes but they rarely tell anyone when these same routes are suspended or cancelled.
Firstly there was Wizz Air from Luton which we reported in October 2020.
Then in February, Eastern Airways announced it would be flying from Southampton and Birmingham.
Furthermore, Spanish airline Volotea said it would be launching service from Bilbao but it never happened.
The news concerning these above air services was broadcast by Gibraltar’s TV station.
In the case of Wizz Air it was reported that “with the uncertain outlook for travel at the moment Wizz has had to adjust its schedule. Wizz wants to return when it makes the most business sense.”
This is the second time this year that Wizz Air has suspended Gibraltar.
Last August this airline suspended flights saying “it needed to meet higher demand in other European countries.”
Wizz Air’s then UK boss told LBC radio that the airline’s policy was to move capacity around to meet demand.
Gibraltar opposition spokesman for tourism, Damon Bossino, was quoted as saying, “We’ve seen it with other airlines such as Volotea and Eastern Airways which have shown they are not the permanent, long-term business partners that they were billed to be. [In fact] Volotea did not even get off the ground!”
Tourism minister, Vijay Daryanani, replied, “These are unprecedented times and if the airline industry was difficult pre-pandemic, it even more challenging now with so much uncertainty.”
So readers must bear these facts in mind during such unusual times.
