Swiss leisure carrier Edelweiss Air will introduce services between Zurich and Ohrid next month, in what is shaping up to be a busy summer for St Paul the Apostle Airport. The Swiss International Air Lines subsidiary will launch operations to Ohrid on April 6, initially once per week, each Saturday, before increasing to two weekly on July 16. "Edelweiss will operate a year-round flight to Ohrid, departing on Saturdays, and an additional flight in July and August, departing on Tuesdays. The flights from Zurich to Ohrid can be booked now", the company said in a statement. The Lufthansa Group member airline already maintains services to Skopje.

Ohrid Airport is gearing up for a record summer season. In addition to Edelweiss, Wizz Air is set to introduce four year-round routes from the city starting next month. They include Malmo, Milan, Memmingen and Dortmund. Furthermore, the Macedonian Embassy in Turkey has said that Turkish low cost carrier Pegasus Airlines will launch services from Izmir to Ohrid "in late May 2019", although the flights are yet to be scheduled. Ohrid Airport started the year off on a strong note by handling 8.132 passengers in January, representing an increase of 40.5% on the year before. At the same time, the number of aircraft movements grew 32% to 66.

The Macedonian government has reiterated it plans to attract a number of low cost airlines to launch operations to Ohrid. The country's Minister for Transport and Communication, Goran Sugareski, said, "We will promote Ohrid Airport for low cost airlines. We want to make Ohrid and its airport operational, as well as use its facilities to enable more tourists to visit Macedonia. The number of passengers at Ohrid is growing each month, so we expect for the figures to continue rising with the measures we will be taking". Ohrid Airport holds potential for attracting not only tourists visiting its picturesque surroundings but also a significant number of Albanian passengers due to its close proximity to the boarder. Apart from the new routes being launched to the city this year, Ohrid is also served by Arkia Israeli Airlines, Germania Flug, Helvetic Airways, Brussels Airlines, TUIfly, Onur Air, Enter Air, Nordica, Corendon Dutch Airlines and Wizz Air.

Edelweiss Air will compete directly against Germania Flug and Helvetic Airways on the new Zurich service, although the latter two maintain only seasonal summer operations to the city. Further details on Edelweiss' new flights to Ohrid can be found here.