Bosnia and Herzegovina is drafting plans for the development of two new airports, which will be located in Bihać and Trebinje. The Bihać Airport project, which was initially stalled in 2016, has now received state backing and finances, while the project in Trebinje is making a comeback after initial plans for its development were scrapped in 2011.

The ambitious redevelopment of Bihać Airport in north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina is set for completion within the following three years and has been given support from the Federal government which is providing the necessary funding in order for construction to begin. The airport's management has announced that work at the site in Golubić should commence within the coming days, while the construction of a paved runway is expected by year's end. A winning design for the airport's terminal building has also been selected. "We are planning to focus on the construction of the runway this year. We have already started the procedure for land expropriation, since the airport currently sits on 26 hectares. Of course, we will need much more space for this project. We are also currently raising additional funds for the runway”, the General Manager of Bihać Airport, Elvedin Sedić, said last week.

The Federal government allocated some two million euros for Bihać Airport last year, with an additional 1.3 million to follow in 2018. “I think that it is realistic to expect support for this project because it is extremely important for our canton", Mr Sedić noted, adding that the airport is also seeking interested private investors. Kuwaiti Princess, Nawal Al-Sabah, who headed a large business delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina this week, said that the Kuwaiti Investment Fund is interested in participating in the Bihać Airport project. Turkey's Çelebi Aviation Holding, a ground handling services company, has also expressed interest to partake in the construction of the airport. The project is valued between twenty and 25 million euros. "We must continue to provide financial support because this region won't see a boom in tourism it deserves without an airport", the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bakir Izetbegović, said. Bihać is located near the Croatian border and is the country's eighth largest city.

The local government in Trebinje, in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, has announced its intention to resume plans for its infamous airport project. Previously, authorities forked out 820.000 euros between 2009 and 2011 into project documentation for a 2.6 kilometre runway and a terminal capable of handling 260.000 passengers per year, only to give up on the idea two years later after naming the airport's General Manager and contracting an Austrian consultant to identify potential routes. However, this time around, the government has said that the study conducted by the Austrian consultant was incomplete and that it will invest a further 40.700 euros for a new development strategy. Tender procedures are expected to begin later this year. The strategy should define the first phase of the airport's development, which would include the construction of a 1.700 metre-long runway, which would be thirty metres wide. This size would cater for aircraft with the capacity to seat up to fifty passengers. In addition, the document will include plans for the construction of a terminal building, control tower, hangar, access roads and a car park.

Bosnia and Herzegovina currently boasts four international commercial airports - Sarajevo, Tuzla, Banja Luka and Mostar.