Up My Alley

A Wizz Air A321neo taxing at Milan Malpensa Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fabian Behr) Right in the middle of the pandemic, when his airline’s flying activity had been reduced to a few flights per week, some of which were pure cargo, Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi was very bullish about the future of his company. “This crisis will present us with opportunities,” Varadi said a month ago during a webinar hosted by Aviation Week. And while most carriers are evaluating how to restart operations to adapt their route offerings to new levels of demand, last week Wizz Air announced the launch of two new bases in Europe at Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy and in Larnaca International Airport in Larnaca, Cyprus. The two airports will play host to the 27th and the 28th bases for the Hungarian low-cost carrier. Read more on Airlinegeeks .

A roughly 9,000 m2 market square under construction at Berlin Brandenburg Airport in 2016 (Photo: Flughafen Berlin Brandenurg) The shareholders’ meeting for Berlin Brandenburg and Federal Airports (FBB) decided last Wednesday that Berlin-Tegel Airport will close down for a two-month period starting of June 15. As the set date for reopening approaches, the shareholders will make the decision whether to reopen the airport or whether to keep it closed. Due to the collapse in air traffic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been decided that all traffic for the German capital will be handled by Berlin Schoenefeld, the former East Berlin airport, before the much-delayed new Berlin Brandenburg airport opens to the public on Oct. 31. Read more on Airlinegeeks .

US Open 2019 (foto via Twitter, @usopen) A questo punto dell’emergenza, si tratta sicuramente della domanda che tutti si pongono con maggiore insistenza: si giocherà lo US Open? Se sì, si disputerà nella data prevista oppure sarà posticipato? E si rimarrà a New York, in questo momento travolta dall’epidemia di COVID-19, oppure si traslocherà? Sarà a porte chiuse? L'articolo completo è su Ubitennis .

A Singapore Airlines A350 performing the inaugural flight from Seattle. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Bailey) Last week Singapore Airlines posted the first full-year loss of its almost 50-year history amid a collapse in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic and some heavy losses on its fuel hedging policy. The airline recorded a net loss of 212 million Singapore dollars ($149.1 million) for the fiscal year ending on March 31. This compares to a 683 million Singapore dollar profit for the previous 12-month period. On March 24, the small country of Singapore prohibited all short-term visitors to enter or transit through the city, therefore causing a dramatic drop in traffic for all airlines in the Singapore Airlines Group. Read more on Airlinegeeks .

Ines Ibbou (Facebook) Le parole di Dominic Thiem a proposito della presunta scarsa professionalità dei tennisti che frequentano i tornei ITF non sono passate inosservate tra i suoi colleghi meno “blasonati”, tanto che qualcuno ha pensato di scrivergli una lettera aperta per ricordargli come la vita nei tornei professionistici di livello più basso sia davvero dura. La 21enne tennista algerina Inés Ibbou, n. 620 del ranking WTA, non ha proprio digerito le parole del campione austriaco ed ha pensato mi mettere sul suo profilo Instagram un video-racconto sotto forma di lettera aperta che descrive la sua battaglia quotidiana per uscire dall’inferno dei tornei ITF ed arrivare al circuito maggiore. L'articolo completo è su Ubitennis .

An Alitalia 777 (Photo: Adam Moreira (AEMoreira042281) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]) After its original decision in March to re-nationalize the Italian flag carrier, Alitalia, the Italian government has taken all the necessary steps to transition all the assets into the new company that will be owned by Italian taxpayers who, during the past 12 years, have injected over 7 billion euros into the coffers of the ailing airline. The decision was originally communicated in March following the dramatic drop in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, Stefano Patuanelli, Italy’s Minister for Economic Development, revealed a few more details about the operation, telling the public, “There have been rumors published on some newspapers regarding the future size of Alitalia. Those rumors hinted that the new Alitalia will be a very small carrier, but that is not correct. We are planning to operate approximately 90 aircraft from the 113