Volotea plans to open its eighth Italian base at Bari airport, starting in July 2024. They will base a single A320-200 aircraft there initially, focusing on seasonal operations.
The airline intends to increase its capacity from Bari airport by over a third next year, with the addition of eight new routes. So far, they have announced five routes, including Toulouse, Dubrovnik, Comiso, Bilbao, and Malaga, with three more destinations to be announced later.
Volotea has been found guilty by the Bordeaux Court of Appeal in France for violating labour law by not notifying French authorities about seconding 18 pilots to the Bordeaux base between 2013-2018. They have been fined €150k and ordered to pay overdue fees to the Aviation Flight Personnel Retirement Fund.
Despite the labour law violation, the court did not prohibit Volotea from participating in public tenders in France, as there was no indication of a repeat violation. The airline is currently bidding for a large PSO (Public Service Obligation) contract in Corsica against Air Corsica.
Ryanair operates 28 annual and 15 seasonal routes from Bari (including Dublin) with the airlines avoiding head-to-head competition on all routes except a seasonal route to Skiathos.
