Discontent grows at Priština Airport

Authorities unhappy with Limak
The Franco-Turkish consortium Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon, which run Priština Airport, are reported to be having problems with local authorities over a range of issues. The public broadcaster, Radio Television of Kosovo, says that authorities are unhappy with various managerial decisions made by the consortium so far. Problems first appeared late last year when authorities accused Limak of violating the concession agreement in respect to the asking price for rent of commercial space at the airport. Furthermore, the airport has recently significantly increased handling fees for carriers using Priština, much to the displeasure of airlines. British Airways, which operates three weekly flights to the city from London Gatwick, has been one of the most vocal in its dissatisfaction with the consortium. The head of Priština Airport, Ferda Yakar from Turkey, resigned from his post in October last year.

Another major disagreement between the airport operator and local authorities is the airport’s controversial name “Adem Jashari” - a guerrilla fighter regarded as a hero by some but a villain amongst minority groups. The name was given in 2010 based on a government decision, however, Limak is said to be unhappy with it. The operator did not want to comment on the name issue to local media. Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon are to run Priština Airport for twenty years under the concession agreement.

Priština saw historic passenger figures in 2011 making it the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia for the first time in its history. The airport is likely to hold onto its position in 2012 with several frequency increases and new services announced by various airlines for the upcoming summer season and a number of other additions introduced over the 2011/2012 winter period.

Comments

  1. OT:

    TAV:January pax numbers for SKP&OHD are up 24% compared to Jan11

    ReplyDelete
  2. BBC reported on their weekly travel show that British Airways now makes a tech stop in Dubrovnik during flights from Pristina because they cannot or I guess will not buy fuel there in Pristina. Just wondering if this is related to the dramas with the consortium?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:56

      Yes it does. Another huge problem and waste is that airlines have to avoid Serbian airspace to fly to Pristina.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous00:25

      Does this mean just Serbia or the whole Serbia/Montenegro air space that is monited within Serbia?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous00:29

      Just Serbia

      Delete
  3. JU520 BEGLAX16:50

    OT: MK (Air Mauritius) announced today termination of the following destinations: MXP,GVA,FRA,MUC,SYD,MEL,BLR

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:57

      LOL

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:33

      Oh wow, this is really OT :D

      Delete
  4. Anonymous17:27

    Limak invested millions of dollars into building of the new terminal so it is natural that handling fees increase.
    Simple refinancing...every company invest to profit
    thereafter...thats business!

    If BA dont want to pay they should leave!

    But i would change the name of the airport .
    Ibrahim Rugova would be an alternative.
    At least he was a honourable person!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JU520 BEGLAX19:16

      no names to airports. and if only with exceptions and personalities who have brought great contribution to the worlds society such as for example Nikola Tesla BEG, Leonardo da Vinci Rome or Chopin in Warsaw. Definitely no politicians, too sensitive issue..

      Delete
    2. Yeah, I would like to see Zagreb named after Slavoljub Penkala. Inventor of the ball point plus fountain tip pen and also made Croatia's first powered aircraft.

      Naming an airport after a controversial figure cannot be good for business.

      Delete
  5. The most important thing is what happens to the airport long-term. Perhaps Limak (not sure what Aeroport de Lyon's role in this consortium is) has identified waste and wants to streamline operations. If so, we need to give Limak time to run their own "show." Having said that, they seem to have burned bridges with just about everyone: authorities, taxi drivers, business tenants, fuel suppliers, airlines and air traffic controllers.

    If you ask me, the above list is too long. It might not even be a complete list.

    If it's short-term pain for long-term gain, I'm all for it. After all, Limak stands to lose most. They must invest over 100 million Euros in order to remain the airport operator for the next nineteen and a half years.

    Btw, the last item of news on PRN airport website dates back to May of 2011. I guess they're too busy looking for bridges to burn whilst also building the new airport terminal.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous21:38

    When there was fire at Prishtina airport?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous22:11

    OT:
    Maldivian( Maldives based airline) will start daily flights to BEG :)
    Great news indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous23:01

    Dear owner of this blog, I have a question for you. Why do you still use the Serbian name of Prishtina?

    It's not Priština. You don't want to have political differences on your page as we're all coming here to view aviation news. You show that you're showing a side, and as a ''journalist'' you should not do that. Please use the international name Pristina.

    All the best from The Netherlands

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:16

      Priština is the name used in Slovenia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia so maybe that’s why the author is using the š. Also I really don’t think this blog sides with anyone. I have noticed that the author nowhere explicitly mentions that Kosovo is Serbian and if you look at the tags for the post it says Kosovo. But I have also noticed that the author nowhere explicitly says that Priština is the capital of Kosovo. Maybe that is the best solution. Keeping both sides at bay. Then again any news relating to Kosovo will always be risky to publish, at least for now. Pozdrav from Australia.

      Delete
  9. Bukuroshi23:14

    Yes !!
    Why do u use serbian name ??
    Kosova is Albanian !!!!

    And this Limak asshole company !
    If they have the problem with our biggest hero then
    go away !!!
    We dont need them !
    They are stealing !
    They make a bad image of Kosova !

    They only make problems but know nothing of
    how to make a airport !!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Muslimani nejedu svinje23:52

      its like saying vancouver is chinese since there is a large community of them in Vancouver, Canada. Its true that more than 90 percent of population in Kosovo is Albanian, but its not Albanian. It maybe even Bosnian more then Albanian.

      Delete
  10. BigD00:23

    pfff...!
    What i really want to know is why Germanwings
    performance is not as good as expected?
    They operate flights to phenomenal seven cities in Germany..come on they should be in the top three of airlines operating from PRN!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ervini02:56

    Well, most probably he uses serbian name cuz he is serbian *dooooh...
    Edhe ne anglisht Kosova eshte Kosovo.. Por si ti mendon se Adem Jashari eshte hero i kombit, ooooh Zoti.....
    Sorry for writing this in albanian, its for Kosovar guy over here. If you wanted to give an albanian name you could have given Skenderbeu, or Sami or Naim Frasheri or Fan Noli, and not someone who is politically "incompetent"..

    Pershendetje nga Fieri, Shqiperia.
    Greeting from Fier, Albania.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous03:13

    Throw Limak out...these are not worth to run the airport.
    They are i9ncompetent idiots...probably bribed
    others to get concession!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous03:41

    Why not give it the name Bill Clinton airport
    or George Bush airport?

    Or maybe in future Romney or Santorum airport?

    Those men have contributed so much...not only to
    Albanians but also for mankind!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous03:46

    Its no more possible...the community garbage dump is already named after George W ,
    and the boulevard where all those western diplomats and NGO workers get their blowjobs is named after Bill Clinton

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous17:26

    Hello !
    How is Germanwings doing ?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous08:48

    Serbia did not lose Kosovo in 1999 as many would like to believe. This region was lost in 1389 after the famous battle when the losing Serbian army and most of population fled the region.
    In 1912 when Serbia won Kosovo in the Balkan wars this region already had 75% Albanian population. Serbian politics in Kingdom of Yugoslavia was to move a lot of Serbs from other part of Yugoslavia to Kosovo. Milosevic tried the same at the end of twentieth century. Both times it failed.
    Serbs were the first in that region that is true. But Albanians have lived there longer than Serbs (more centuries). The reality is that Kosovo is NOT Serbian, and what I cannot understand is WHY Serbs want this region so badly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:01

      Because Serbs are obsessed with gaining territories and they'be been like this since the first Serbian uprising. They don't care about the holy lands, myths, monasteries and all that crap, that's just an excuse to use for the International community, they only want the territory. It would make absolutely no difference if Albanians lived in northern or eastern Serbia either, because even than Serbs would declare those parts "holy" and their "cradle" just the same.

      Delete

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