Astra Airlines
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | 2008 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | July 5, 2008 | ||||||
| AOC # | GR-028[3] | ||||||
| Hubs | Thessaloniki International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Athens International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 4 | ||||||
| Destinations | 37 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Thessaloniki, Greece | ||||||
| Key people | Ioannis Zlatanis (Chairman) | ||||||
| Website | astra-airlines.gr | ||||||
Astra Airlines was a Greek regional airline headquartered in Thessaloniki and based at Thessaloniki International Airport.
History
The carrier was founded by Ioannis Zlatanis, founder of Interaviator Ltd, and Anastasios Zirinis, former CEO of Olympic Aviation. It launched operations on 5 July 2008, flying from Thessaloniki to Rhodes.[4]
On 9 November 2019, it was reported that Astra Airlines faced severe financial difficulties and was searching for an investor to maintain its current operations.[5] The airline grounded all flights on the same day until further notice.[6] On 14 November 2019, IATA announced that it had suspended the airline and warned Greek travel agents to stop selling tickets on the airline with immediate effect.[7][8]
On 18 November 2019, it was reported that the airline would not resume operations for good.[9]
Destinations
As of May 2016, Astra Airlines served the following destinations:[10]
- Athens – Athens International Airport - focus city
- Chios – Chios Island National Airport
- Corfu – Corfu International Airport
- Heraklion – Heraklion International Airport
- Ikaria – Ikaria Island National Airport
- Kalamata – Kalamata International Airport
- Karpathos – Karpathos Island National Airport - seasonal
- Kastoria –Kastoria National Airport
- Kithira – Kithira Island National Airport - seasonal
- Kos – Kos Island International Airport
- Kozani – Kozani National Airport
- Lemnos – Lemnos International Airport
- Milos – Milos Island National Airport - seasonal
- Mykonos – Mykonos Island National Airport - seasonal
- Mytilene – Mytilene International Airport
- Samos – Samos International Airport
- Santorini – Santorini (Thira) National Airport - seasonal
- Sitia – Sitia Public Airport
- Thessaloniki – Thessaloniki International Airport - hub
- Zakynthos – Zakynthos International Airport - seasonal
- Munich – Munich Airport - seasonal
- Tel Aviv - Ben Gurion Airport - seasonal charter
Fleet
As of August 2019, the Astra Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[11]
| Aircraft | In fleet | On order | Passengers | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Y | Total
| |||||
| ATR 42-300 | 2 | — | 0 | 48 | 48 | ||
| ATR 72-200 | 1 | — | 0 | 70 | 70 | ||
| BAe 146-300 | 1 | — | 0 | 112 | 112 | ||
| Total | 4 | — | |||||
References
- ^ "IATA - Airline and Airport Code Search". iata.org. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
- ^ a b "CONTRACTIONS FAA JO 7340.2". faa.gov. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
- ^ "Action Plan on Emissions Reduction of Greece" (PDF). ICAO. Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ "Astra Airlines Takes Off". capital.gr. 11 July 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ^ politischios.gr - ΒΙΝΤΕΟ- Τελευταία πτήση της Astra Airlines ή υπάρχει ακόμη σωτηρία (Greek) 9 November 2019.
- ^ "Greece's Astra Airways' Financial Difficulties Prompt HCAA Review". 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Greece's Astra Airlines Suspended From The IATA". 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "IATA Grounds Greece's Astra Airlines". 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ aerotelegraph.com - "Grounding: Astra Airlines ends operations" (German) 18 November 2019
- ^ astra-airlines.gr - BUY TICKET retrieved 21 May 2016
- ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 15.
External links
- Official website
Media related to Astra Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
