Darwin Airline (Lugano) doing business as Etihad Regional has canceled its public service obligation contract for flights from Bolzano/Bozen to Rome Fiumicino. Due to contract terms the airline has to maintain flights until July 2015.
Darwin won the PSO tender in 2013 and currently operates four daily flights on weekdays. Currently flights are operated with a Saab 2000.
According to statements made by state governor Arno Kompatscher to local news portal Stol.it, the state government of Trentino-Alto Adige now plans to find a new carrier for the subsidized route.
Darwin has meanwhile lodged a complaint against Swiss (LX, Zurich) with the Swiss competition commission WEKO. Darwin's CEO Maurizio Merlo has told Reuters that Swiss would use "predatory measures which are clearly adopted as an attempt to weaken and damage Darwin." According to the regional carrier, Swiss no longer accepts Darwin passengers during flight disruptions and is proactively launching new routes such as Geneva to Lugano or Zurich to Dresden in competition with Darwin.
