Arkia Israeli Airlines intends on launching flights between Tel Aviv and Skopje next year following talks with the Macedonian government. The carrier, Israel's second largest behind El Al, said it wants to reach a cooperation agreement with the state before introducing the service. The Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Goran Sugareski, noted, "We had a fruitful meeting during which we explained our policies in the aviation sector. They [Arkia] presented their plans to spread their wings in Macedonia by establishing this new service. If we reach an agreement in the coming period, these plans will be implemented. We hope for a positive outcome and for flights between Skopje and Tel Aviv to be established".
Arkia has a limited presence in the former Yugoslavia and Macedonia itself. The airline maintains seasonal flights from Israel's largest city to Ohrid, as well as year-long operations between Tel Aviv and Belgrade. Furthermore, it runs seasonal charter flights to Ljubljana and also operates services to Dubrovnik and Rijeka on occasion. "The development of air traffic is a priority for the Macedonian government. Measures have been taken by the Ministry of Transport and Communications to secure a wide range of European and global destinations from Macedonia", Mr Sugareski noted. This year both Wizz Air and Qatar Airways introduced new flights to Skopje.
The development comes following a recent visit by the Macedonian Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev, to Israel together with a delegation of over sixty businesspeople. Bilateral trade between the two countries stands at forty million dollars, although growth has been stagnant in the last few years. "Our two nations want to improve ties in agriculture, high-tech and tourism, especially through the set-up of year-round nonstop flights", the Israeli Ambassador to Macedonia, Dan Oryan, said. A string of airlines have recently held talks with the Macedonian government over the launch of flights to Skopje and Ohrid, including LOT Polish Airlines and Onur Air, while Aegean Airlines has announced plans to introduce services from Athens to the Macedonian capital.
I'm impressed with the government's approach with all of these airlines. In just a few months we already have a few new companies planning to start flights from unserved markets. Good job.
ReplyDeleteAnd finally it's not just Wizz Air! The previous government was so focused on them.
DeleteWell thanks to them there are now 4 Wizz planes based in Skopje and over a million passengers at SKP.
DeleteIt was rather the other way round. It was only Wizz Air who was focused on Macedonia. Now that the others have seen the light too it's a bit easier.
DeleteThey value diversity more then the previous one. In every aspect!
DeleteThe new sandwich eaters have appeared.
Deleteof coure the Wizz_anon is not too happy about it
DeleteBots are never welcome in any shape or form, I'm afraid.
DeleteGood news. It should bring Israeli tourists to Macedonia. For example in Belgrade where they started flights last year there has been a massive boom in Israeli tourists. I think they are now in the top 5 foreign visitors and another Israeli airline has also started all year round flights. Israelis like it because its relatively cheap for them and safe. It will be the same for them in Macedonia.
ReplyDeleteActually as for Israeli tourists and BEG they said that they feel very welcome here and because Serbia was never hostile towards them. They visit their graveyard in Belgrade, their synagogue which is quite large and so on...
DeleteThree airlines operate 9 weekly flights between BEG and TLV. JU does really well, very often the A320 is sent.
What's interesting is that both Arkia and Israir fly on the same days, thursday and Sunday. I guess because of Sabbath.
DeleteI think El Al bought Arkia so we might see them also expand in the region more and more.
oh well its weekends spend in Belgrade. This is how you start to test a non gastarbajter market in general
DeleteDo we know what is the support that the government is offering since they talk about "reaching an agreement"
ReplyDeletehaha, you are asking too much :)
DeleteSo Aegean confirmed for next year, possibly Arkia, and LOT. Hope we see some others too.
ReplyDeleteThose are for Skopje. But Nordica and Brussels Airlines are confirmed for Ohrid which has been developing quietly but nicely over the past year.
DeleteAnonymous 9.10
DeleteYou forgot Onur Air which will also most probably start IST-SKP flights next year.
Onur Air more likely IST-OHD, and LOT to both SKP (YR, WAW) and OHD (S, to KRK, P7 started KTW charters this summer with 321) from what we've heard in the media.Would be good if any of this materialises...
DeleteThey have Embraers in their fleet which are perfect for the ex-Yu markets.
ReplyDeleteThey also send the B757 if the demand is there. They sent it once each week to Belgrade this summer and they have also used it on some charters to Dubrovnik.
DeleteYup, also to Zagreb and Rijeka. Their B757-300 have capacity of 265 seats.
DeleteI'm surprised Wizz Air never took up the opportunity to launch this route. Seems like a good fit for them.
ReplyDeleteEven if they wanted to they couldn't. As an EU registered airline, Wizz can't fly between two non-EU countries unless its Switzerland or Norway.
DeleteBoth countries are outside the EU, thus bilaterals apply, which makes it impossible - or highly improbable - for Wizz to serve this route.
DeleteTime for Wizz to register a plane in Macedonia.
DeleteYou won't see them doing that. They don't want to pay for anything.
DeleteIt's not just about the registration of the aircraft, you need the whole structure for an airline, which makes little sense to do just so you could fly one or two extra routes.
DeleteIt is a low cost airline in the end...
Have there ever been flights between Skopje and Tel Aviv?
ReplyDeleteI think MAT used to fly to TLV at one point didn't they?
DeleteMat Airways which was established by Kon Tiki after MAT went bankrupt planned its first route to be Belgrade-Ohrid-Tel Aviv but they never got off the ground.
DeleteWhatever happened to their plane? The B737-500?
DeleteIt's parked at Skopje Airport. I have no idea who owns it and why its been there for years.
DeleteThey used it for airport safety exercises this year.
DeleteIt still has Kontiki titles on it.
Delete@ Anonymous November 9, 2017 at 9:24 AM
DeleteIt did get off the ground. They flew some charters out of Belgrade but seems they never got a permit to fly out of Macedonia. In the end Kon Tiki realized it was a huge waste of money.
https://www.ekapija.com/news/327684/poleteo-prvi-kon-tiki-sky-kompanija-mat-airways-obavila-svoj-prvi-zvanicni
Air Serbia might take the plane. I don't see how can a plane be grounded for so long. Why they don't sell it? Why not to Air Serbia or any other regional airline?
Delete@10.02
DeleteThey got a permit to fly from Macedonia but they ceased flying 2 days before the OHD-TLV flights were supposed to launch.
It's unfortunate that it took 4 years since then for an airline to start flights between TLV and OHD.
DeleteThat's the downside of not having a national airline. A lot of unserved routes which can be very successful.
DeleteSeems like SKP is following BEG's steps. First it was the Wizz Air base, now the Israeli flights... I guess next is PEK-SKP. :D
ReplyDeleteWill they keep their Ohrid flights if they start Skopje?
ReplyDeleteyes, Ohrid is for paket aranzman tours for Israeli tourists
DeleteNext we need a Russian airline to start Moscow-Skopje!
ReplyDeletePobeda?
DeletePobeda was very interested in starting flights a year ago but nothing in the end.
DeleteWith the current political relations between Russia and Macedonia at a low, don't expect any flights between these two countries any time soon.
DeleteBy that logic there should be no flights between Russia and Montenegro yet the number of Russian tourists visiting Montenegro was again among the top foreign visitors. The Mont. govt accused them of planning a coup and there are still scheduled and charter flights. So your conclusion is wrong.
Deleteits sad because the demand is there. However, you put too much into this just look at nearby Montenegro. Did they stop flying after Montenegro joined Nato? Nope. So sit and relax
DeletePobeda has publicly said they are considering Nis flights. If they start flying there I doubt they will launch Skopje (and same if the opposite happens).
DeleteI actually think that if a Russian airline does start flights to Macedonia it will be to Ohrid not Skopje. A lot of Russians are visiting Ohrid lake.
DeleteI don't think that flights to Nis would impact Pobeda starting OHD.
DeleteOf course not, it's two completely different markets.
DeleteI rather expect KBP-SKP to be honest
Delete@ Anonymous November 9, 2017 at 10:37 AM
DeleteI was saying that if they flew INI, I'm not sure they would launch SKP in the near future. Ohrid is a completely different story.
Do Russians need visas to enter Macedonia?
Deletebut we need (voucher and invitation from some travel agency)
Deleteand who goes to Russia? I don't know much people who do...
DeleteThis Sugareski chap seems to be focused a lot on aviation which I like.
ReplyDeleteits funny how the vmro-bots are suddenly quiet aboout him. so amusing.
DeleteAviation is important for every country
Does Wizz have any plans to expand next year from Skopje?
ReplyDeleteI think that at the moment their expansion possibilities are rather limited.
DeleteIf they were they probably would have announced it by now.
DeleteI think they will mainly focus on increasing frequencies if they make any changes to the schedule next summer.
DeleteThere might be a new route from Ohrid. The government is trying to get them to focus more on OHD since they want both airports in the country to offer a good choice of destinations.
DeleteGreat to see so much development in Macedonian aviation lately with Qatar coming and negotiations with so many airlines.
ReplyDeleteGreat news! Well done, Skopie!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Sofia!
Cheers, bros!
DeleteAll we need are those long haul flights to the US :D
ReplyDeleteOr China ;)
DeleteOr Canada ;)
DeleteTrue the Ex-Yu hat trick US-China-Canada.
DeleteHahaha so true
DeleteOr FRA, LHR, CDG....
DeleteThis is all well and fine but I'm still waiting to see all these flights scheduled and on sale. For now only Nordica and Brussels to Ohrid are on sale. Aegean still hasn't put on sale, it's all just plans.
ReplyDeleteNot true. Aegean went on record to say they are launching Skopje next year. They are launching many new destinations and most are still not on sale.
DeleteThey are probably still waiting for the government to execute the change in the airport's name.
DeleteSomehow I doubt they will do that.
DeleteLocal elections are over now. We will see.
DeleteI'm waiting for the Croatian guy to write how it is crazy that a topic like this for Macedonia has so many comments and for him to complain how this is an odd site to have so many comments about Macedonian aviation.
ReplyDeleteYes :D he complained on the news about Aegean and on news about Onur Air.
DeleteDon't invite the troll.
DeleteGreat news SKP.
ReplyDeleteDoes Macedonia plan to launch another round of tenders for subsidies?
ReplyDeleteSomeone wrote in the comments a few weeks ago that they will next year.
DeleteIf all of these plans materialize - Aegean, Onur, Lot and Arkia, Skopje will have another huge year of growth in 2018.
ReplyDeleteThis addition of airlines was really needed to diversify the offer.
ReplyDeleteNice to see something exotic for Skopje for a change :)
ReplyDeleteI would prefer Air France, KLM, British, SAS to be honest.
DeleteBeggars can't be choosers
Deleteanon 11.04 stop being a papagal
DeleteSure I would prefer some of those too but the realistic list is also good too.
DeleteAre you serious anonymous anon 11.54?
DeleteAir France flies only to ZAG and LJU in ex-Yu. ZAG is under French concession so no surprise. KLM and British also only fly to ZAG if I don't include the seasonal cities. SAS only flies seasonal to Croatian coast and no capital cities in ex-Yu except for Sarajevo for a few months next summer because of the huge diaspora and no links between Sarajevo and Scandinavia. At the same time Wizz Air covers several cities from Skopje to Sweden.
not to mention that Wizz is struggling with their BVA fligts
DeleteSKP-BVA? give more details pls
DeleteNext we will see Montenegro Airlines resume Skopje flights :)
ReplyDeletewhy not?
DeleteWell, there was those announcements for Skopje-Podgorica-Sarajevo. It makes sense Montenegro Airlines to be the one operating them.
DeleteSmart strategy. After helping Wizz build up its route network and make its flights from Macedonia sustainable, the government is now looking to add more verity and broaden the offer. Good move.
ReplyDelete+1 I think we will be seeing a few more airline come to Skopje soon other than the ones already mentioned.
DeleteExcellent news for Macedonian tourism industry. Israelis are holidaying more and more in the Balkans.
ReplyDeleteGet ready for extremely rigorous security checks which start at check-in if you are using these flights.
ReplyDeleteyou are mixing ElAl with Arkia or?
DeleteNope I mean Arkia. All Israeli airlines have the same security procedures when departing foreign airports. You will see a special lane at the check in counter with tables and security guards checking baggage on the spot. That's why checkin lasts so long for these flights.
DeleteI expect Ukraine Airlines to start Kiev - Skopje
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering which other airlines could potentially fly to Skopje in the near future?
DeleteI don't see UIA coming to Skopje. There are far bigger markets such as BEG, OTP, ZAG, SOF where they don't fly.
DeleteBulgaria Air, Montenegro Airlines, TAROM, Eurowings, Vueling, Transavia
DeletePeople here contently talk about potential between Skopje and Sofia but I just don't see it. Wouldn't Wizz launch the flights if there was demand. I mean they have bases in both cities.
Deletethere must be potential considering the stronger ties now plus all the destinations sof offers for cheap, so why not
Deleteit takes ages by bus
@ 3:48
DeleteThe demand is there and is very big.
Anonymous November 9, 2017 at 9:06 PM
Delete+1000
It is possible that they will fly TLV-SKP-OHD
ReplyDeleteHow long would the SKP-OHD flight be?
DeleteJU did the triangle route years ago (from beg obv)
Delete30 minutes.
DeleteAlso Conrendon or TUI (not sure which one) used to fly triangle flights from Amsterdam I think. AMD-OHD-SKP-AMS.
DeleteDutch carriers newer flew triangle flights like that.Corendon and TUI basicaly newer landed in SKP.
DeleteBut Jetairfly used to do that, maybe you got confused, as above but BRU instead of AMS once a week and the others were direct.
And by the way, why would Arkia fly triangle flights if they have full Embraer to Ohrid?Maybe if they switch to 757 which is highly doubtful, as its capacity is more than double and I dont believe they can fill 265 seats at least 2pw.
DeleteWould be better if they fly different days from OHD and SKP and not to forget, OHD is seasonal and SKP would be year round.
I like Arkia's new livery. Looks much better than before. Looking forward to seeing them in Skopje soon.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteBravo Macedonia! ;)
ReplyDeleteStamp in Israeli means ban in Dubai and elswhere....
ReplyDeleteWe are in Europe we need desperetaley Europe only. Not 'Moscow's cows.
You don't get a stamp in Israel in your passport you get it on a piece of paper so you can travel to the Arab world.
DeleteDont fool me little kid. I had old relatives who were there on a visit a had stamps. But they didnt know just like any uneducatd here.
Deletenice try. as anon 6.44 says they dont stamp your passport.
DeleteThey issue cards, not papers.
DeleteI can't see the market between TLV and SKP being significant enough for flights between these two cities.
ReplyDelete