August 11 (SeeNews) - Romanian low-cost carrier Blue Air has decided to deploy an additional aircraft to its base in Turin, Italy, next month and add two new routes from the base, it said on Tuesday.
The newly allocated aircraft will be the air carrier's second at the base in Turin, it said in a press release.
"Since 2015, Blue Air has continuously invested in the Turin base, achieving a sustainable growth of its customer base and local expertise. By having two aircraft at our base in Turin, we will introduce new routes and supplement the flight schedule to the most popular destinations in Italy," Blue Air CEO Oana Petrescu said.
Blue Air plans to launch two new routes from Turin - to Bari and Cagliari starting September, reaching a total of eight routes from Turin to cities in Italy.
It also plans to resume flights from Turin to the Romanian city of Bacau as of October 1, once modernization works at Bacau International Airport are completed.
Blue Air, the only air carrier in Romania with 100% domestic capital, started operations in December 2004. In 2013, it was taken over by Airline Management Solutions Company for 30 million euro ($35.3 million).
Blue Air stands to receive 300.77 million lei ($73 million/ 62 million euro) as state aid in order to avoid bankruptcy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, if the Romanian government approves a draft emergency decree for support of local air carriers in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. State-owned carrier Tarom is expected to receive a similar amount under the draft decree which had been opened for discussion until August 10.
In July, Blue Air announced that the Bucharest municipal court has approved its request to enter a concordat procedure with its creditors in order to avoid insolvency.
(1 euro=4.8347 lei)