Divers

🛩 Wizz Air, following its Abu Dhabi closure, reallocates resources to expand in Italy. Currently targeting Fiumicino, Malpensa, Venice, Pisa, Turin, Alghero, and Lamezia. Competing with EasyJet and Ryanair, Wizz Air introduces summer-only routes: Rome-Menorca (3x a week) and Malpensa-Mallorca. Daily Roma-Malta flights are also planned. The Eastern European market's growth cap and competitive operating costs drive these strategic moves.

✈️ Aer Lingus' A321XLR landed at London Heathrow on December 13 with a force of 3.3G, exceeding the typical 1.1 to 1.4G landing intensity and surpassing the 2G certification threshold for commercial planes. Inspections are underway, with the aircraft grounded for weeks awaiting structural analysis results, likely needing landing gear replacement. Weather conditions contributed to the incident. In 1990, Aviaco's DC9 suffered unnoticeable severe damage in Menorca, leading to its decommissioning after a return flight.

✈️ Air Europa will launch its first flight from Madrid to Johannesburg on June 24, 2026, with three weekly Boeing 787 Dreamliner services. In 2026, new routes will also include Marrakech, Tunis, Tangier, and Geneva. These routes mark the airline's expansion after Iberia ceased its Johannesburg route in 2019 due to low profitability. Air Europa's African expansion complements increased European flights and domestic network growth planned for 2026.

🚀 SpaceX's experimental rocket exploded on January 16, 2025, risking 450 people aboard three planes from Iberia, JetBlue, and a private jet over the Caribbean. Debris fell for about 50 minutes, prompting emergency zones and fuel emergencies. Communication failures delayed alerts, forcing crews to make critical decisions. Iberia and JetBlue reported minimal impact, while SpaceX claimed no danger, pledging to improve future incident management with the FAA.

✈ Este martes 23 de diciembre, una huelga de cinco jornadas comenzó en South Europe Ground Services de Iberia, en el aeropuerto de Barajas. Los paros (8:00-12:00 y 18:00-22:00) continuarán el 26 y 30 de diciembre, y el 2 y 7 de enero. Iberia ofrece cambios de fecha o bonos para vuelos cancelados. La huelga afecta a Iberia, Iberia Express, Vueling, British Airways, y otros. Servicios mínimos: 77% para islas, 56% para vuelos de más de 500 km.

✈ Ávoris partners with Ryanair to expand Travelplan's international offerings, leveraging Ryanair's network of 250 European and North African airports. The initial phase covers international flights, with future plans to add domestic routes like the Canary and Balearic Islands. This mirrors Viajes El Corte Inglés' similar 2024 agreement, enhancing Ryanair’s strategy in Morocco, where it struggles with low occupancy rates. Viajes El Corte Inglés first partnered with Ryanair in March 2024.

✈ El DC8 de McDonnell Douglas, en servicio desde hace 66 años, ha visto su último modelo en EE.UU., registrado N782SP, dejar de operar. Este avión, de 57 años, voló para Finnair y la Fuerza Aérea de Francia antes de ser utilizado por una ONG cristiana. En EE.UU., este es el último en uso, aunque dos más podrían volar en Congo y Perú. Iberia y Spantax usaron este modelo en sus flotas desde 1961.

📚 Manuel Figuerola Palomo, destacado investigador de turismo, falleció este lunes. Con más de 50 años de trayectoria, fue profesor emérito en la Universidad Nebrija durante dos décadas. Recibió la Medalla de Plata al Mérito Turístico en 1986 y otros reconocimientos internacionales. En mayo, fue honrado por la Universidad Nebrija. Figuerola pronunció 300 conferencias en más de 40 países y fue una figura clave en el desarrollo del turismo en España y América Latina.

✈ Level, a subsidiary of IAG, will inaugurate a direct route between Barcelona and Lima on June 3, 2026. This will be the only airline offering flights between these two cities. Tickets start at €319 per journey. Initially, there will be three weekly flights: Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Level's partnership network enables connections to 17 additional destinations in Peru via Iberia and over 75 destinations through Vueling for travelers from South America.

📊 Gabriel Escarrer highlights the decline in crime and issues with impurities, enabling new market entry in family and conference tourism. Acknowledges municipal efforts to fight seasonality through literary festivals, musical events, and sports competitions to extend the tourism season. Praises public-private collaboration and infrastructure renewal, notably the Magaluf promenade, to enhance Calvià's global image. Commends the commitment to high-quality tourism as the strategic path forward.