Belgrade and Sarajevo airports extend growth streak

Airports see growth as Sarajevo prepares for busy weekend ahead

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport and Sarajevo Airport have extended their passenger growth run to 25 and thirteen months respectively. Belgrade Airport welcomed 406.121 passengers in May, an increase of 5.8% compared to the same month last year. The growth came despite only a marginal increase in the number of operated flights, from 4.987 to 5.016 operations, up 0.6%. Although there was a significant decrease in the number of services operated by foreign carriers and a decline in the number of charter operations, a general increase in travel and a solid performance by Air Serbia secured Belgrade yet another month of growth. Overall, so far this year Belgrade Airport welcomed 1.675.999 travellers through its doors, up 9% on the same period in 2014. It is expected to break the two million passenger mark by the end of June, the earliest it has done so. Furthermore, the airport estimates its annual growth will amount to 5% in 2015.

MonthPAXChange (%)
JAN308.381 13.8
FEB264.816 14.1
MAR315.283 11.6
APR381.401 3.6
MAY406.121 5.8

Sarajevo Airport has continued to perform well, with strong growth recorded during May. It welcomed 80.143 passengers last month, marking its busiest May on record. The numbers represent a 12.1% increase compared to the same month last year. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s busiest airport processed 345.113 kilograms of commercial cargo, which was also up 12%. During the month, Turkish Airlines Cargo launched scheduled two weekly services from Istanbul to Sarajevo. Flights operate each Tuesday and Saturday with an Airbus A330-200F freighter jet. Some 3.600 tonnes of meat products are being exported from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Turkey on board the cargo flights. Sarajevo is expected to maintain its passenger growth trends in the months to come with Flydubai to double its operations to the city to four weekly flights during the peak summer season, from July 24 to early September. Furthermore, there has been a sharp increase in the number of charter services.

During the first five months of the year, Sarajevo Airport handled 277.088 passengers, an increase of 12.9% compared to the same period last year. The airport is preparing for an exceptionally busy Saturday this week with the arrival of Pope Francis, on his one-day visit to the city. The Pope’s aircraft is scheduled for arrival at 09.00 CEST in Sarajevo, while his return flight is expected to depart at 21.20. Thousands of people will travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina in hope of seeing the Pope. Since the Vatican doesn't have a papal plane, it has to rely on a chartered jet provided by Alitalia. When the Pope leaves a country, the protocol is that he should fly on board a plane from that country's flagship airline. If a country the Pope visits doesn't have an airline that would meet the Vatican's standards in terms of security, size, and other concerns, he will fly back with Alitalia instead.

MonthPAXChange (%)
JAN43.700 21.0
FEB39.908 12.6
MAR50.273 9.8
APR63.064 11.4
MAY80.143 12.1

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    So will B&H Airlines fly the Pope back to Rome?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      Somehow I don't see him flying back on a ATR72

      Delete
    2. Why not, he is very modest

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:50

      Not that modest

      Delete
    4. Anonymous00:49

      Pope can choose, ATR72 by B&H Airlines or Dash8 by CTN :)))))

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:05

    what about Zagreb?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess they are still counting. Must be huge! lol

      Still waiting on Split and Dubrovnik too.

      Delete
    2. Split up 14.5%

      Dubrovnik up 8.9%

      Delete
    3. Anonymous14:03

      Great results:

      Dubrovnik 5/2014 181898
      5/2015 198168

      Split 5/2014 159485
      5/2015 182626

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:07

    OT but according to Aviogenex's Facebook page a Serbian court overruled the decision to sell YU-ANP. Seems like she is staying in Belgrade after all. lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:20

      Vucic and the IMF won't be happy...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:31

      Etihad može da odahne ;)

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:21

    So much for the doom and gloom scenarios predicted by some here for BEG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:37

      Negative sentiment towards BEG and Air Serbia by our neigbours, as well as our defeatist Serbian self-spitting mentality will always exist.

      Nonetheless, the airport is growing at an organic and feasible rate. Growth of 9% over the first third of the year is definitely worthy of praise. Maybe some missed opportunities did exist but, overall, the airport has stabilised its growth and is firmly in the black.

      Looking forward to smaller facelift changes this year on the terminal buildings and further growth overt the summer season.

      Well done BEG!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:03

      Yes! Being ambitious, demanding improvements, holding politicians accountable for their PROMISES or demanding professional - not PARTY management of STATE companies that are owned by ALL OF US is defeatism.

      Instead, defending the status quo, being happy with what you got, believing everything POLITICIANS and their PR / media system serves you - would be patriotism, right?

      :)))))

      I got it correct?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:11

      All You are boring.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:12

      AnonymousJune 3, 2015 at 10:03 AM

      Dude, if you just over focus on the negative, your whole life and the society you live in, will be negative.

      The news above is positive. Its something good happening. So show some reasoning. State companies are run by government everywhere in the world. And, in most places, mismanaged. If "ALL OF US" ran companies, they would be one fine mess. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. That's how the world operates. So either become a "clan partije" or alternatively step outside occasionally and smell the roses. Fresh air is good.

      Delete
    5. 'Doom and gloom' please give examples from this blog. I remember people predicting a slow down in growth compared to last year's which we are seeing and not surprising since Air Serbia's expansion has been limited this year.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:28

      Q400

      Reactionaries on both sides constantly pollute this blog with extreme doom and gloom scenarios, a la "da komsiji crkne veca krava od moje".

      On the contrary, I think the reason for BEG growth, however modest it might be, is because of Air Serbia. BEG peaked in 2014, it will trough in 2105 and from 2016 we will reach progressive and table growth, ceteris paribus.

      If, by any chance, transatlantic flights get launched in March 2016, then that growth will exhilarate too. I believe that mid-term prospects for expansion and growth are stacking in favour of BEG.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:30

      *Pardon. 2015.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous10:42

    OT: Effective 01JUN16 (next summer), Aeroflot will be operating the SU2090/2091 BEG service with the Sharklets equipped Airbus A321 - return to higher capacity aircraft on the route.

    Athens, Berlin and Istanbul will also get the A321 Sharklets.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous11:44

    Kakva je popunjenost na letovima Zagreb-Dubai i Zagreb-Doha? Kad sam letio do Melbournea sa predjedanjen u Dohi, Zagreb-Doha je bila popunjena skoro do posljednjeg mjesta, ali u povratku u Zagreb i nije bilo baš tako krcato.

    Vidio sam da se bilježi porast putnika za rutu Zagreb-Paris za jedno 50ak %. Planira li se pojačanje frekvencije za Paris?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:55

      Ja sam išao 13.05. Qatar Airways-om Zagreb-Doha-Šangaj. popunjenost na letu Zg-Doha oko 50%
      Vraćao sam se 24.05. Šangaj-Doha-Zagreb: popunjenost oko 90-95%!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:08

      Podatke o popunjenosti bi trebao dati netko iz te dvije kompanije ili iz zračne luke Zagreb , ovako je sve puko nagađanje. Vjerujem da im je popunjenost dobra inače ne bi povećali broj letova za Dubai na 4 puta tjedno i 7 puta tjedno za Dohu bez stopa u Budimpešti.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:10

      Gdje si vidio porast broja putnika za Paris za 50%?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous12:45

      zar nije bilo riječ ovdje, kad se iskazala statistika da se zabilježava 50%-tni porast letova na relaciji Zagreb-Paris? Ili sam to pročitao na drugom blogu? Mislim da se to radilo za statistiku za 2014 godinu.

      Isto tako nije mi jasno zašto se suzila frekvencija Zagreb-Priština na samo 2 leta tjedno, dok se prije nekoliko godina letilo svakodnevno ako se ne varam (i još se letilo sa Airbus a319 , a ne sada sa onim bombardier dash Q-400). Često putujem za Prištinu i stalno je pun avion, jer se još pokupe putnici iz Londona i Parisa. Stvarno se po nekom mojem dojmu, ruta za Prištinu čini isplativo.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous16:56

      "jerujem da im je popunjenost dobra inače ne bi povećali broj letova za Dubai na 4 puta tjedno i 7 puta tjedno za Dohu bez stopa u Budimpešti."
      True, ZAG route is going good! On the other hand BEG route is not unfortunately.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous16:58

      That's not true, Air France would then use bigger plane than E-190 that they send everyday, with HOP! regional.

      Delete
    7. Purger21:33

      I traveled 8 times ZAG-CDG with OU and AF. All the times LF was more than 90%.

      Delete
  7. Aэrologic12:21

    After long time i would to share with you some interesting pics of a highly unusual airport, Eilat, located in the middle of the city and basically separating the center in two. Due to the short runway, the traffic is composed mainly of ATR and small turboprop aircraft. A new airport, however, is being built, that is supposed to replace it in the near future.

    https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/33900/9DEqap2wLck.jpg
    https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/33909/NA1lXlHDyMw.jpg
    https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/33912/Xeouta9Nfp0.jpg

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:41

      Aэrologic
      Vrlo zanimljive slike kao i sam Aerodrom .
      Jeste iz ETH leteli sa IZ posto nosi gazdino ime od IZ :)
      INN-NS

      Delete
    2. Aэrologic15:04

      I flew from TLV, here are some photos.

      https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/33922/GMWK4Sdqqb0.jpg
      The new SU 77W:
      https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/3392b/XCf4YBFbwSY.jpg
      https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/33934/Bywpsz1W6XY.jpg
      https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/3393d/TucGPdb-xkw.jpg
      Pegasus Asia, first in the log:
      https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/33946/3RVd04efoPg.jpg
      https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/3394f/4VFrdE5PzXM.jpg

      Delete
    3. Aэrologic15:14

      ...and KBP.

      https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/33958/WeXky-pEjXk.jpg
      https://pp.vk.me/c623626/v623626496/33961/c_w-IxGmhSM.jpg

      The highlight was the winglet-fitted 737-300 of UIA nicknamed Maugli, that i couldn't take a pic of from the bus.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous15:52

      Aэrologic
      Hvala na divnim slikama ali ubedljivo najbolja je ona sa S 77W =D
      INN-NS

      Delete
  8. Anonymous12:38

    Svakako jedva cekam da Direktorat odobri nesto i onda u roku od 1-2 meseca ce da bude raqst na LYBE priblizno kao i prosle godine.
    INN-NS

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous13:03

    Way to go SJJevo! <3

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous14:17

    BEG had 4,63M in 2014, now estimates 5% growth, that is 4,86M in 2015. Wait, in January Ex Yu published airport's own estimates for 2015 to be in 5-5,5M range, so this new 5% growth estimate is much lower than what was expected in January. Air Serbia, why is this revised estimate much lower now?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:35

      LYBE preko 5m ove godine ce biti mrtva trka

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:25

      Dude, the summer is about to begin, and in months like July for example you have much more passengers than in March or May. So expected growth this year at Belgrade airport is about 10%, and with that growth BEG will handle more than 5 000 000 passengers. What's so unclear?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous17:13

      @Anonimous at 4:25

      10%, says who? Did you even read the article above? It says: the airport estimates its annual growth will amount to 5% in 2015.

      Delete
  11. AirCEO14:53

    OT Flashback: October 28, 2013:

    http://www.exyuaviation.com/2013/10/air-serbia-considering-regional.html

    "airline is considering the possibility to purchase an airline in the region as part of its future expansion plans but says the Serbian carrier must first turn a profit before making such a big strategic move. Mr. Kondić believes his airline will turn a profit within a year’s time. “I think any business is always going to look at opportunities for growth. At the moment we have our own goals, ambitions and plans, which is to bring into service ten of these new aircraft, build a route structure, get some sustainability and then we can look at other sorts of investment that may involve acquisitions around the region”, Mr. Kondić said."

    turn profit - check
    bring into service 10 new planes - check
    build a route structure - check
    some sustainability - check
    regional acquisitions - just around the corner?

    Who will it be?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous15:29

      You've become such a JU cheerleader.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:12

      Svakako bi bilo najbolje da to bude RO ili FB mada neverujem da ce ASL direktno invetirati u neku kompaniju nego ce to biti EY.
      INN-NS

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:32

      Ja mislim da ce iskoristiti svoj ogromni profit da kupe udeo u Er Fransu.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:19

      It's not cheerleading if it's a failed promise.

      Delete
  12. http://flight-report.com/fr/report-10441.html
    Trip report I found on French flightreport on ASL. There are other 3 trip reports on the same site for ASL but I will let you find them. I think there is also one Croatia Airlines and one Montenegro Airlines trip reports. Just be careful to use the French site since it has more trip reports from our region than the English one (its two different sites, not language options).

    Some things which caught by eye on that report:
    1) ATR flight to Skpje was full
    2) ATR-72 200 looks quite worn and tired even though the interior is just ok
    3) Apparently FlyFubai is getting catering in BEG since you can see a catering truck from ASL
    4) Skopje airport is looking great, although when ASL flight landed not that much traffic

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:24

      "Belgrade a l'air d'être un aéroport assez sympa en termes de boutiques / services de restauration.

      Skopje paraît bien vide et morne en comparaison!"

      LOL.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous06:13

      Je trouve tout de meme le terminal a skopje plus joli meme sil est plus petit et moins animé

      Delete
  13. Anonymous08:51

    Does the mentioned meat go to Turkey from Sarajevo or Banjaluka?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous22:55

    Bosnian Wand Airlines??????

    ReplyDelete

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