Sarajevo Airport is engaged in active, targeted negotiations with airlines to introduce new routes. The airport is participating in industry route development events, recently taking part in the Connect forum, to negotiate both the launch of new destinations and the expansion of existing services, with a focus on improving connectivity to underserved parts of Europe. Discussions are primarily aimed at strengthening links with Western and Northern Europe, where demand is driven by diaspora traffic, tourism and business ties. In addition, efforts are underway to enhance connections with major hub airports to support onward global travel. “We have recently expanded into new markets such as the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and France, as well as growing opportunities in the Middle East. Our goal is to attract more tourists from these regions by presenting Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina as attractive travel destinations”, Vedrana Vikić Musić, Airport Services Manager at Sarajevo Airport, said.

Negotiations are closely tied to public incentive programmes, which are used as a lever to secure new air services. The Sarajevo Canton government announced this week that over 1.5 million euros has been allocated to support the launch of new routes in 2025/26 which were selected in previous tenders, while work is under way on a new incentive programme aimed at supporting additional services between 2027 and 2029. “In the coming period, the focus will remain on subsidising strategically important routes that generate the highest traffic, which is particularly significant ahead of the start of the peak travel season. Our goal is to ensure that, through systematic support, Sarajevo becomes an even more accessible and competitive destination”, Canton Premier, Nihad Uk, said.

This week, Transavia France introduced flights between Paris Orly and Sarajevo, which will be followed by new seasonal services from Ankara and Bodrum by AJet, as well as new summer flights from Berlin by Eurowings. “In addition to data-driven planning and traffic analytics, we maintain continuous dialogue with airlines to understand mutual needs, challenges, and growth plans, which, in my opinion, is crucial for building a successful partnership”, Ms Vikić Musić said. She added, “We cooperate on route promotion, tourism campaigns, and passenger experience improvements to ensure mutual value. Carefully designed incentives, tailored to the real needs of airlines, marketing support, reduced air transportation fees, and operational facilitation, help airlines reduce risk and optimize performance. By providing these incentives, we clearly demonstrate that we stand firmly by our partners, sharing both the risk and the opportunity for sustainable, long-term growth”.