Condor (airline)

Condor, legally incorporated as Condor Flugdienst GmbH (lit. 'Condor Flight Service'), is a German airline based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It was established in 1955 with Frankfurt Airport as its main base. Condor offers scheduled and charter flights and operates, from Germany, medium-haul flights to the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands as well as long-haul flights to destinations in Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Whereas medium-haul flights are operated from many German airports and Zurich, long-haul flights usually depart from Frankfurt, with a few charter services operated from Düsseldorf and Munich. The airline was originally established as Deutsche Flugdienst GmbH on 21 December 1955. Its initial fleet consisted of three 36-passenger Vickers VC.1 Viking aircraft. The airline's first tourist-oriented flight commenced on 29 March 1956. In 1961, Deutsche Flugdienst took over its rival Condor-Luftreederei and subsequently adopted Condor Flugdienst GmbH as its operating name. During 1966, Condor launched its first long-haul flights. By this time, the airline had a majority market share of Germany's tourism air travel market. During the 1990s, Condor was restructured and merged with other businesses to become an integrated tourism concern known as C&N Touristik. In 2000, the Condor shares held by Lufthansa were acquired by both Thomas Cook AG and Thomas Cook Group. On 4 February 2013, Thomas Cook Group announced that Thomas Cook Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium, and Condor would be merged into a single operating segment of the Thomas Cook Group, Thomas Cook Group Airlines. On 23 September 2019, Condor's parent company Thomas Cook Group filed for bankruptcy; however, Condor received a bridge loan from the German government to remain in operation, as a subsidiary of Thomas Cook. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a planned acquisition of the airline by Polish Aviation Group, owner of LOT Polish...