March 17 (SeeNews) - Romanian flag carrier Tarom said it had to suspend some international flights from the eastern city of Iasi on Friday due to lack of aircraft in its fleet.
"This occurred because in October 2016, two Airbus A310 aircraft were withdrawn from Tarom fleet as a result of the management's decision at the time. Steps for their replacement could not be completed in due time for the 2017 summer programme which included full operation of international routes from Iasi," Tarom said in a press release.
The flag carrier also said that it will make all efforts to resume operation of international flights from Iasi in the shortest time possible and in maximum security conditions, and to replenish and renew its fleet.
Tarom operates seven international routes from Iasi - to Rome, Bologna, Turin, London, Madrid, Tel Aviv and Munich.
Earlier in March, the company launched an entertainment platform that called AirFi Tarom, allowing passengers to access various films and games from their phones or tablets during flights. The service will be available only on a quarter of the airplanes in its fleet, both on domestic and international routes.
Tarom posted a 28.6 million lei ($6.7 million/ 6.3 million euro) loss in the first half of 2016, eight times higher than planned, due to technical problems, according to the latest financial data released by the company in August. The air carrier said at the time it was confident it would end the year with only 6.9 million lei loss.
TAROM has a fleet of 19 operational aircraft bought between 1992 and 2009. The company is a member of SkyTeam Alliance and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Romania's transport transport Razvan Cuc said in February that it is essential for Tarom to find a way to replace the two withdrawn Airbus A310 as soon as possible and buy another two long-haul aircraft.
(1 euro =4.5654 lei)