Sarajevo to start terminal demolition in late Q4

Sarajevo Airport will begin clearing its old Terminal A building (pictured) at the end of the year to make way for the multi million euro expansion of its Terminal B facility, as passenger numbers continue to grow. "All tender procedures concerning the demolition and clearance of the old Terminal A structure have been completed. We have also secured necessary approval from the competent federal ministry, so demolition work should begin soon", the airport's spokeswoman, Sanja Bagarić Arnaut, said. She added, "Temporary makeshift facilities are already being installed around the airport. They will be used by employees and will also house a restaurant and other services". Terminal A was utilised for commercial traffic between 1969 until the outbreak of war in 1992. It has since been used primarily for office space by airport staff. Plans to transform it into a low cost terminal have been shelved.

The twenty million euro expansion of the existing passenger terminal will result in an additional 10.000 square metres of space spread across four levels. The length of the entire terminal will total 110 metres, up from the current 68, while the number of check-in desks will be increased from seventeen to 28. Furthermore, the expanded facility will boast seven gates, up from the existing four, and will have an expanded departures and retail area. Upon completion, the terminal building will have the capacity to handle two million passengers. Currently, Sarajevo can welcome one million travellers per year, with the airport set to surpass that figure next year. The demolition of the A building and the expansion of Terminal B will run for some eighteen months.

Sarajevo Airport terminal upon project completion

Sarajevo Airport has recorded strong passenger growth so far this year with 769.261 travellers handled during the first three quarters, an increase of 13.8% on the same period in 2016. Several new airlines have commenced services to the Bosnian capital this year, including Atlasglobal, Nesma Airlines, Wataniya Airways, TUIfly Belgium and Wizz Air, with Qatar Airways to follow by the end of the month. SAS Scandinavian Airlines has announced it will introduce seasonal flights between Copenhagen and Sarajevo next summer season. Commenting on the presence of low cost airlines, Ms Bagarić Arnaut said, "There are several budget carriers operating to Sarajevo Airport, such as Pegasus Airlines, Flydubai, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Eurowings and Wizz Air. Each airline carries out its own commercial analysis of the market and determines the viability of introducing new flights. We offer incentives for all airlines to encourage them to fly to Sarajevo, however, low cost carriers usually opt to operate from smaller airports with less traffic, which are not burdened by additional taxes".