Malta’s Freebird Airlines Europe opens Cologne-Bonn base

Freebird Airlines Europe (FHM, Malta Int’l) has stationed a single A320-200 at a new base at Cologne/Bonn, from where it will fly to islands in Greece and Spain this summer, the airport announced. The Maltese subsidiary of Turkey’s Freebird Airlines (FH, Istanbul New), on March 15, 2021, kicked off a return charter service from Cologne-Bonn to Heraklion (Crete) using 9H-FHB (msn 3025), Flightradar24 ADS-B data revealed. According to German news reports, the charter carrier also plans to connect Cologne/Bonn with the Greek islands of Kos Hippocrates and Rhodes twice a week. The same frequencies are planned for the Canary Islands of Fuerteventura, Las Palmas, and Tenerife Sur. From September, Freebird Airlines Europe will also start flying from Cologne-Bonn to Hurghada, Egypt. “Freebird offers vacationers a varied program to some of the most beautiful European islands. We are very much looking forward to our future cooperation and warmly welcome Freebird Airlines Europe to Cologne/Bonn Airport,” said airport chief executive Johan Vanneste. The airline’s stationing is a positive development for the region of North Rhine-Westphalia where demand has remained subdued due to COVID-19. In February the number of passengers at Düsseldorf Int’l, Dortmund, Paderborn/Lippstadt, Münster/Osnabrück, Düsseldorf Weeze, and Cologne-Bonn Airport was down 93% compared to the same month last year, reports said. Since May 2020, Freebird Airlines Europe also operates a base from Leipzig/Halle, where it stations its only other A320-200, 9H-FHA (msn 4207). It operates flights on behalf of tour operator TUI Travel to the Greek and Spanish islands. According to FlightRadar24, the aircraft on May 17 also conducted flights to Rhodes and Maastricht. Parent company Freebird Airlines operates a fleet of eight A320-200s from its base at Istanbul New.