Banja Luka Airport to expand terminal


Banja Luka Airport will expand its terminal building and build a new cargo facility in a bid to boost its passenger and storage capacities. The 3.1 million euro project will be carried out over the next six to nine months and will include the expansion of the existing terminal building by 397 square metres and the construction of a new cargo storage depot, which will stretch over 1.360 metres. “The cargo facility is the focus of the investment and will cater for requirements made by carriers concerning the protection and special conditions necessary for freight transport”, the CEO of operator Airports of Republika Srpska, Miroslav Janjić, said. The operator, which reported a 72.900 euro profit during the first half of the year, said it would take out a loan to finance the expansion project.


The Prime Minister of the Entity of Republika Srpska, in which Banja Luka is located, Željka Cvijanović, recently said that significant investments would be made in the airport and its infrastructure, including its equipment. Banja Luka Airport has been unsuccessful in its bid to find new customers despite talks with several low cost airlines over the years. The airport says negotiations with budget carriers are generally more "complicated, difficult and extensive", as they require financial backing. Since 2013, it has been involved in drawn out negotiations with Wizz Air. Two years ago, the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure of the Entity of Republika Srpska, Nedeljko Čubrilović, commented on the talks with Wizz Air by saying, “Unfortunately we were unable to agree to the terms set by the airline. It’s not as it looks. They aren’t coming here to give us anything, they want to come here to take something. During negotiations they were very difficult over handling prices so we would not benefit from them in any single way”.


During the first seven months of the year, the airport handled 12.535 passengers. Air Serbia launched flights between the Serbian capital and Banja Luka in December 2013. The service, which is codeshared by Air Berlin, Alitalia and Etihad Airways, is operated five times per week. The Serbian airline is Banja Luka's only customer since B&H Airlines, which ran flights from the city to Zurich, suspended all operations in June last year. Over the years, the airport has been in talks with several carriers including Aegean Airlines, Austrian and Edelweiss Air.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:08

    Some good news for Banja Luka after a looong time. I hope they manage to find another airline to fly there too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:25

    Bosnia seems to be the only ex-Yu country putting so much focus on cargo. What are they exporting/importing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:34

      Meat and live stock to Turkey.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:27

    And Tuzla which has actual traffic still has old cramped terminal. Great.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous09:31

    Local election in Bosnia and all the promises! First of all if they are going to do something, how about starting with proper English "Banjaluka Airport" not Airport Banjaluka. "Miroslav Janjić, said: The operator reported a 72.900 euro profit!? Profit? After government paid millions in subsidies. Airport did not make 72.900 euros in income, how on earth will they make profit?? Air Serbia is the only airline flying to BNX with 5 weekly flights during summer, and Air Serbia is not paying any landing and handling fees. Turkish cargo left BNX for TZL. It is amazing how government appointed people in public sector can lie so much in this part of the world is beyond any understanding. BNX is dead airport and is there for just one purpose, for the SNDS appointed people to get paid nice salaries for doing absolutely nothing! Photo of the expended airport looks like chicken barn. Banjaluka is second largest city in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and it is such shame that city does not have proper airport. BNX could be so successful with LCC, but when you have minister in government who said "bringing LCC to BNX would only benefit people" we can not expect anything good for the airport.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:47

      +1 very well said.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:17

      Ja ne znam zasto se ovakav tekst koji vredja ljude ne obrise.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:02

      Zato sto se ovaj sajt vodi odgovorno i dozvoljava se da se pise istina. Ako tebi smeta slobodno idi drugde gde se iskljucivo tolerise partijska lojalnost i hvalospev.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:48

      That was one long paragraph, but true dat.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:45

      Ovo nije nikakav hvalospev nego istina da ovaj gospodin gore izmislja da nema nikakav Profit kad ga ima sa raznim ad-hoc cargo charterima i ostalim uslugama . A kad vec orica kako navodno od toga zive ljudi koji su clanovi Partije neke neka joj makar napise pravilno naziv .
      INN-NS

      Delete
    6. Anonymous15:47

      Ti se bunis jer neko nesto nije ispravno napisao? HAHAHHAA LMAO

      Delete
    7. Purger18:18

      E bogami ne postoji ni jedan jedini aerodrom na svijetu koji može biti profitabilan na AD HOC cargu ili charterima.

      Uzgled "ad hoc cargo charter" je izvdenica koji je totalni nonsens, nešto nemoguće i nepostojeće, to je zapravo toliki strukovni nonsens da boli za uši.

      Na ad hocu ne može živjeti niti jedan Oxford airport, a kamoli da Banja Luka može biti profitabilna na ad hocu.

      Jesi ti, Marko, siguran da znaš što je to ad hoc let (business, charter, general aviation)?

      Delete
    8. Anonymous22:13

      Da znam da je ad hoc - Non-Scheduled Traffic .
      I opet vi dodajete neke stvari koje ne pisu nigde ja sam napisao da je na osnovu ad hoc chartera i cargo saobracaj ostvario profit procitajte opet .
      i AD hoc charteri postoje i gore je greska hvali i .
      Ali vi izgleda volite da dodajte neke stvari da bi se raspravljali
      INN-NS

      Delete
    9. Purger00:20

      Marko ako leže koza ne laže rog, pa citiram tvoju izjavu:

      "raznim ad-hoc cargo charterima i ostalim uslugama"

      ...i da stvarno bole uši od ovog nonsensa.

      No, to nije osnovna tema rasprave. Ja kažem da nema aerodroma na svijetu koji na ad hocu može biti profitabilan.

      Obzirom da Banja luka ima oko 500 tona cargo prometa mjesečno, jako teško da ovo generira tolik prihod kojim se anulira gubitak rezultiran nedostatkom putnika (oko 1.500 putnika mjesečno). Ako Banja Luka sa 500 tona carga i 1.500 putnika mjesečno može pokriti svoje rashode onda ljudima stvarno treba čestitati i diči spomenike.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous00:21

      Cicko šta znači reč "hvali"?

      Delete
    11. Anonymous06:08

      Otkad je Turkish Airlines prebacio svoje kargo letove iz BNX u TZL, aerodrom Banjaluka uopste nema kargo prometa. Dovoljno je otici na stranicu BH Direkcije za civilno zrakoplovstvo koja nudi podrobne informacije na mjesecnoj bazi o prometu putnika i robe na svim aerodromima u Bosni i Hercegovini (www.bhdca.gov.ba)
      Kargo promet sa aerodroma Banjaluka za ovu godinu:
      Juli (utovareno 0, istovareno 310 kg)
      Juni (utovareno 0, istovareno 1007 kg)
      Maj (utovareno 0, istovareno 280 kg)
      April (utovareno 0, istovareno 240 kg)
      Mart (utovareno 0, istovareno 370 kg)
      Februar (utovareno 0, istovareno 280 kg)
      Januar (utovareno 0, istovareno 70 kg)

      E sad, ako je moguce od "ovoliko" tereta zaraditi profit za aerodrom, onda su oni za knjigu rekorda. Ovdje se radi o cistoj lazi i obmanjivanju javnosti neistinama!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous17:10

      At least they didn't name it January 9th like the highway.

      This airport should be much more successful than it is given that it is the second largest city in the country and the capital of the entity. Ryanair could have made this Zagreb South and maybe Sarajevo North at the same time.

      Delete
    13. Anonymous04:01

      Najveci problem je sto ministri u vladi Srpske, koji imaju krajnju odgovornost, nevide Banjalucki aerodrom kao strateski i makroekonomski projekat nego gledaju ga kao mikroekonomski posao. Kad bi uradili isto sto i Tuzla i privukli 300 do 500 hiljada putnika godisnje, subvencije od nekoliko stotina hiljada pa cak i milion maraka low cost kompanijama bi se daleko isplatile kroz priliv novca koji putnici donesu sa sobom i koji se na neki nacin slije u entitetski budzet. Dijaspora svake godine posalje preko bankarskih transakcija oko 2 milijarde maraka u BiH a koliko donese u "dzepu" malo ko da zna. Sigurno se radi o mnogo vecim iznosima od toga i to govorim iz licnog iskustva. Dobro je sto ulazu u infrastrukturu ali u isto vrijeme kompetencija politicara i menadzmenta je smijesna jer nevide neke stvari iz helikopterske perspektive. Direktor medjunarodnog aerodroma koji nezna engleski jezik i izjave da oni (aerodrom) nebi imali koristi od low cost kompanija a samo gradjani su primjeri o kojima vise nema sta da se prica

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:40

    I still can´t understand this "mania" to expand and built current airports! Why would you need so many airports if you already have the current ones operating below their capacity levels? Same with Serbia, it´s more than enough to have 2 operating airports. MK does not need a 3rd airport neither. HR is an exception because it´s a EU member + lots of airports in the coastal area.
    But come on, building and maintaining airports is expensive and will have to be paid by the local people who are most likely to use a bigger airport with more options!
    So, we build airports such as Kraljevo and then just leave them abandoned and empty. This is tragic and sad.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous09:59

    This airport really needs to change something fast... and it isn't its terminal.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous10:10

    Wizz Air was interested in turning BNX into something like Tuzla before they were even considering Tuzla. They were chased away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:10

      Poor little Wizz! Those mean people did not want to give them taxpayer money through sweeet subsidies! How unjust and cruel!

      Delete
    2. Sarcasm overdose

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:01

      Anon 11.10 well they give incentives to JU, why not to W6?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:01

      I don't agree, anon. 12.01. Taxpayer funded subsidies for Wizz, Ryan, you name it, are just, genial, generally the smartest business move anyone can make in airline business ever. Your money into their shareholders pockets - most humane thing you can do for the world. But, the discounts that apply to everyone, or local help to Croatia Airlines or to Air Serbia are an utter scandal and total waste of taxpayer money. Why? I don't know, but it is a dogma. You need to just to believe in it, no matter how hypocritical or illogical those two claims are.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous13:12

      Wizz Air and Ryanair receive incentives that are there for everyone to apply for, including JU.
      On the other hand, JU received subsidies taht are exclusively there for them.

      Just look, the moment subsidies ended Wizz Air brought back a second a/c to BEG.

      Delete
    6. Aэrologic14:07

      @1:01
      +1 Fully support. Not just dogma but brainwashing. Let's not forget they operate out of airports built with same taxpayer money and developed by legacy carriers.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:50

      @1:01 PM
      +1 Svaka cast konacno neko da im objasni istinu i da je Gospodin Ministar u potpunosti upravu.
      INN-Ns

      Delete
    8. Anonymous18:45

      @anon 13.12
      I don't think so. The timing is here very instructive. Wizz did not return when ASL support ended, but exactly after Ryan entered Serbian market.

      They realized that sweet special deal that only they enjoyed is not coming back and if they continued with their partial boycott/blackmail Ryan may take their market.

      BEG services are as cheap/expensive as they were when Wizz left.

      Yet when Ryan entered the Serbian market, miraculously those "expensive" services became affordable for Wizz.

      Don't get me wrong. I think there is a place for both LCCs and legacies. But I am sick and tired of hypocritical moralistic stories that are illogical and self-serving.
      I get it, you are also after subsidies. That's fine, there is some business logic behind that. But don't pretend to be the champions of free market. You're not.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous10:29

    Aerodromi Republike Srpske is a nest of corruption. They even managed to get Edelweiss to cancel their planned flights to BNX. It is terrible.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous10:54

    Although I do agree with some of the comments regarding the airport's management I am glad that they will reconstruct the terminal. It was needed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Purger10:55

    They will expand terminal for 5 weekly flights with ATR 72. For average of 30 passengers not even every day? For that present airport is more than enough. Even if Wizzair, by some miracle, base plane here this terminal is more than enough.

    So they will spent so much money in extension for something they don't need.

    You have money? Spent it on new carriers not on buildings that you don't need.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:03

      But with buildings managers can take a lot of money in their pockets by provisions. With new carriers they can not. And Air Serbia would not be happy. In Banja Luka they don't want to make Air Serbia unhappy.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:08

      +1
      Exactly the thing they did at MBX. And now? Nothing. At least BNX has those 5 weekly flights. MBX has new and great infrastructure but no regular traffic.

      Haplek

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:16

      Lakse je pregovarati kad imate novi/sredjeni Terminal nego kad je stariji da bi dosle legacy carriers.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:00

      To nema nikakve veze, pogledaj Nis i stanje njihovog aerodroma. INI je baraka bas kao i BNX samo sto je INI jeftiniji te primamljiviji za avio-kompanije.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous00:27

      Tuzla dovukla LCC sa šupom od aerodroma.

      Niš dovukao dva prevoznika sa šupom od aerodroma.

      Rijeka dovukla LCC prevoznike sa šupom od aerodroma. Iz Osijeka leti LCC iako je aerodrom minijaturan.

      Dakle, Cicko kako to? I ti stvarno misliš da Wizz i ostale LCC interesuje kakav je termina? Zabole ih. Iz takvih rupetina lete po Evropi. Njih samo interesira da je jeftino.

      Ne možeš da opravdaš ovo nepotrebno bacanje bara pa da se postaviš na trepavice.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous01:15

      Добро речено.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous10:57

    Airport Banja Luka instead of Banja Luka Airport,the same stupid mistake as " Airport Morava".Idiots!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:12

      Are you a professional English editor? If not, please stop!

      Delete
    2. Sta je pesnik htio da kaze?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:58

      Anon 11.12 so you would prefer to have it written wrongly? Dafuq bruh

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:30

      Pesnik je hteo da kaze da je to greska i ima pravo. A vi ako to neznate, otvorite englesku gramatiku.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous12:49

      Anon. 11.58. Both writings are right. You're need to let it go.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous13:10

      Anon 12.49 one is correct while the other is awkward. You are the one who needs to let it go.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous19:05

      Both are correct. I understand that Banja Luka is not your cup of tea, and that is fine, but you are acting silly.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous14:08

      Banjaluka Airport is correct and not either Banja Luka Airport or Airport Banjaluka. Srpski jezik ne koristi imenice kao pridjeve (kao engleski) nego te imenice dobijajau nastavke tako da bi se taj grad mogao zvani Banjska Luka ako ne Banjaluka. Ako ne razumijete, to je vaš problem.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous11:14

    Ovo su odlicne vesti za BNX da se dobije novi Terminal i novi Cargo Centar za dalji razvoj Aerodroma.
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous12:03

    OT I was told that a great number of JU fas quit recently to move onto EK and QR. Anyone have any more info on this? They told me that around 15 last month.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:11

      Nije 15 ali mozda 4 ili 5.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:36

      This is unsurprising. However, I have a friend who quit QR to move back to Belgrade and start working at JU. So it goes both ways.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:08

      Very few people actually move back to JU because the pay is incomparably smaller. An fa with JU earns like €700 while with QR it's much bigger.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:49

      What is a fas?

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:01

      Short for flight attendants.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:15

      Aaaa, ok. I would have written it as FAs.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous16:37

      I am on my phone so it's a bit difficult to type, sorry. :)

      Delete
  14. Anonymous13:04

    OT: ABY cancels Sarajevo flights!

    ReplyDelete
  15. A new Trebinje story, don't forget there are elections soon

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous13:34

    Meanwhile, on the left hand side in Global Airlines News: "Turkmenistan opens $2.3 billion airport" :D

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nemjee14:54

    OT

    Friday JU 506 BEG-LCA 80/126 63% LF
    W6's LCA-BEG almost full.

    Seems like LCA is performing well for both, especially W6 which will have more flights this winter compared to last.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:12

      Good news Nemjee, hope that JU will not cut the route over the winter if LF falls.
      It would be a shame to surrender the route to W6.

      Delete
    2. Nemjee15:19

      I agree, there is certainly a market JU can capture in Cyprus. I think their performance down there will improve once they decide to expand in the UK. If ever they launch MAN or BHX, then they absolutely must offer connections to Cyprus. I think two weekly flights at 07.45 (like TLV) could wonders for their performance down there.

      As for W6, they have become quite expensive which I guess means that LCA has matured enough for them. Who knows, maybe we end up seeing a third weekly flight soon.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:23

      Nemjee beg-lca this morning was 171/174 :)

      Delete
    4. Purger18:26

      63% is far away from "well" even in winter, especially in September.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous18:54

      To je posledica losih vremena poletanja/sletanja koja su definisana pre svega da privuku transferne putnike, dok su dobrostojeci Beogradjani koji vole da borave na Kipru osudjeni na Wizz.

      Delete
    6. Nemjee19:01

      +1 Anon 06.54

      Tacno. Skoro pa niko od nasih ne zivi u Larnaci, vecina Srba je u Limasolu a potom u Nikoziji. Oba grada su udaljena oko 50 km od LCA. Svako ko moze da izbegne sletanje u 03.20 ce to uraditi. Wizz je to shvatio i zato je sada u mogucnosti da prodaje karte za 20.000 RSD.

      JU ima dobru popunjenost, veca je od 63%. To je bio slucaj samo sa tim letom tada. Nije Er Srbiji lako da konkurise drugima, posebno OS koji ima jutarnji polazak u 06.20. Glavni problem za Er Srbiju je split schedule.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous18:26

    Od kojih para? xDDD

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous07:28

    WOW! New terminal!
    I believe that Emirates will come after this news!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ја сам чуо да је и Делта Ерлајнс изразила жељу да лети бањалучког аеродрома. Он је био пропала инвестиција од саме његове изградње и такав ће по свему судећи и да остане. И овакве приче су само шарене лаже, као и соколачки, требињски и ко не зна који све не аеродром у Републици Српској.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous10:57

    As it’s clearly shown in the picture, a big tree to be planted in a park next to the cargo building is envisaged. It’s not exactly clear who likes the birds’ singing the most, the general director or some of the executives, or those guys in either the Supervisory Board or the Ministry of Communications and Transport of the RS, or all of them. But the birds will be taken care of for sure.

    ReplyDelete

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