The former Yugoslavia's ten busiest airports over the first quarter added a combined total of 178.708 passengers year-on-year, with the overall pace of growth slowing. Pristina Airport added the most passengers over the three-month period despite dealing with the demise of its busiest carrier, Germania, and industrial action by air traffic controllers in March, which disrupted traffic. Overall, nine of the ten busiest airports during Q1 saw record results. The only exception was Tuzla, which was affected by the suspension of a number of Wizz Air routes during the 2018/19 winter season that have since been reinstated with the onset of the 2019 summer schedule.
| Airport | Passengers Q1 2019 | Passengers Q1 2018 | Change (%) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgrade | 1.034.891 | 997.518 | ▲ 3.7 | + 37.373 |
| Zagreb | 605.329 | 585.576 | ▲ 3.4 | + 19.753 |
| Pristina | 476.154 | 418.134 | ▲ 13.9 | + 58.020 |
| Skopje | 454.488 | 432.620 | ▲ 5.6 | + 21.868 |
| Ljubljana | 342.636 | 329.212 | ▲ 4.1 | + 13.424 |
| Podgorica | 193.581 | 181.381 | ▲ 6.7 | + 12.200 |
| Sarajevo | 174.508 | 169.124 | ▲ 3.2 | + 5.384 |
| Split | 121.222 | 117.493 | ▲ 3.2 | + 3.729 |
| Dubrovnik | 117.968 | 94.038 | ▲ 24.4 | + 23.930 |
| Tuzla | 102.678 | 119.651 |  14.5 | - 16.973 |
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport retained its position as the busiest in the former Yugoslavia, adding just over 37.300 travellers on last year. The airport managed to extend its passenger growth streak to 33 consecutive months. In Zagreb, which has described 2019 as a "consolidatory year compared to the previous two", figures improved 3.4%. The pace of growth is expected to pick-up during the second and third quarters, with passenger numbers anticipated to rise over 5% this year. Croatia's second busiest airport, Split, continued with its growth momentum, albeit at a slower pace than in 2018. "The 15% to 20% annual growth we have witnessed is unlikely to continue in the coming years and we expect the usual 5% to 10% increase in passenger numbers", the airport said. On the other hand, Dubrovnik Airport saw a record start to the year, with its figures improving over 24%. However, the growth rate is expected to come down in the coming months, with an annual increase of some 5% expected in 2019.
Skopje Airport added 21.868 passengers during the first quarter with strong growth expected over the coming three months. "Skopje Airport registered expected passenger growth of 5.6%, which will be higher in the second and the third quarters of the year, due to the opening of four new routes", its operator said. Elsewhere, in Ljubljana, the airport recorded solid passenger growth of just over 4% despite a decline in the number of travellers handled by its main customer Adria Airways. Foreign carriers, particularly budget airlines, fuelled the increase over the past three months. Podgorica Airport continued to register record passenger numbers, with 193.581 passengers handled during the first quarter.
Mark my words, in the next five years PRN and ZAG will be neck and neck while SPU will be number 2.
ReplyDeleteLet us mark our calendars.
Deletefrishki is back :) <3
DeleteA true ZAG defender. Don't worry, ZAG will always be on the top and you know it.
Hahahah exactly, hope dies last. SPU can easily have around 4.5 to 5 million passengers and its growth is far more promising than ZAG's as it relies on tourist demand.
DeleteFrishki is always around and actually can use something else but an Anonymous name. Also, Frishki is a defender of a logic, not a fanboy of an airport I have nothing to do with.
DeleteNow, try again.
So you don't think SPU can reach 4, 5 million passengers?
DeleteFrishki is always bringing frish air into the discussion.
DeleteMfM
@Anonymous18 April 2019 at 09:39
DeleteJust had a fart, oh it was you.
It's surprising that PRN added the most new passengers. Good result.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the reason for all this growth at PRN?
DeleteMy guess is mass emigration over the past five years so more diaspora demand. People have money to fly back home.
DeleteBro, kosova is empty, Thats why.
DeleteGermany is about approve another 38.000 work visas. Maybe it's time for EW to open a base in PRN. lol
DeleteAnd it is still not enough for the German economy. There are currently around 500,000 vacant jobs if not more. Not surprised about all those Balkanian cities linked to every single German village, town and city. Just look at SKP & BEG. Crazy.
Delete"What is the reason for all this growth at PRN?"
DeleteWizz Air opened 3 new routes that operate thrice weekly (9 weekly) and increased its LTN frequency from 3 weekly to 5 weekly (2 additional weekly). That's approximately 16,000 seats more per month and that's what's mainly driving growth at PRN.
EasyJet has upped its capacity quite a bit too. Also Norwegian, Eurowings, Pegagus...
Visit Kosovo,
DeleteI think he was mostly interested to know where all these extra passengers came from. Those airlines you listed all added flights because, unfortunately, Albanians diaspora is getting larger and larger every single day.
Compare it to ZAG where growth is more linked to growing tourist numbers that come to visit the city and the rest of the country.
Overall it seems to me we will be seeing much smaller growth than past few years.
ReplyDeleteSame as for most airports in Europe.
DeleteSo ranking by the number of passengers added, which is the most important metric
ReplyDelete1. PRN
2. BEG
3. DBV
4. SKP
5. ZAG
6. LJU
7. TGD
8. SJJ
9. SPU
Yes, it's very useful to have this information too. Puts things into perspective. Percentages don't tell the whole story.
DeleteSo maybe PRN can reach BEG eventually?
DeleteYes if it adds 4 million passengers this year.
DeleteI don't mean this year but in the next 10 years or so. If this trend continues then it could come close to BEG. They are already at around 50% of BEG which isn't bad.
DeleteYea its definitly going to happen if all 1.8m people move to western europe, if this trend continues.
DeletePristina will never overtake Belgrade. Not saying this as a hater, I am just being realistic.
DeleteNever say never Anon 09:25. PRN is growing like crazy even before visa abolishment. Just imagine what happens if they are lifted soon as confirmed by the Euro Commission...
DeleteJesus Christ on a cracker with Nostradamus predictions...
DeleteIt's an aviation portal, what are we supposed to do than discuss aviation and make predictions?
DeleteIt's an aviation portal, not a predictions portal.
DeleteMath is very simple here. PRN added some 20000 pax in one quarter more than BEG. If this continues through the rest of the year and they manage even to increase this growth and add 100000 pax more for the whole year it will take around 30 years for PRN to overtake BEG. Not to mention that in between they need to build the much bigger airport.
DeleteThis is the first and slowest quarter so It is more realistic that at the end of the year BEG will have bigger growth in absolute numbers than PRN, not vice versa. Maybe only SPU and DBV will have bigger growth in absolute numbers than BEG at the end of the year but even that is questionable.
I think they won't add as SPU manages to be the busiest in ex-YU only one month in the year. All other months BEG dominates.
DeleteVoja, nope.
DeleteDifference in traffic between PRN in BEG is currently 3,5 million.
By 2025 BEG will reach 8 million and PRN around 5...so the real gap is really narrow by 2030 which is in 11 years and not 30 years.
PRN 5 million? I think you are a bit too ambitious. I don't there being enough market for 5 million. There is almost no business traffic, no tourism... so it's all VFR. I think best case scenario is 3 to 3.5.
DeleteKosovar authority will add new airport near Djakovica - the KFOR base it is now. That will affect the growth at PRN.
DeleteHahahahah no they won't, it will never happen as Turks won't allow it.
DeleteSarajevo is a real disappointment for me so far. It barely added a few thousand passengers and Sarajevo hosted youth Olympics. Without it we would probably be in minus.
ReplyDeleteThings will pick up when Fly Bosnia launches in June.
DeleteOh and Aegean starts flights as well.
DeleteI agree. Results should be better for first quarter.
DeleteThere is also Flynas and Eurowings coming to Sarajevo in June
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/p/flynas-riyadh-sarajevo.html
https://www.exyuaviation.com/p/eurowings-berlin-sarajevo.html
So Pristina overtook Skopje, which was ahead in Q1 2018.
ReplyDeleteAnd Split and Dubrovnik overtook Tuzla.
DeleteTuzla - a lesson to be learned. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope at this point that Tuzla manages to renegotiate deal with Wizz which expires in a few months.
DeleteSKP put all its eggs in one basket and is doing great.
DeleteTZL could too if it gave large enough subventions.
There is a difference though. Tuzla has not done anything that was agreed in contract between Wizz and itself. First and foremost being the installation of approach lights.
DeleteThem subventions won't last forever and SKP bubble will burst the sooner the later. Germany and Sweden are practically and organically 95% covered. The only possible arrivals are LH and SK but I am not seeing this anytime soon.
DeleteWe keep on hearing about this bubble but still nothing... years and years have passed.
DeleteThat because Macedonian economy is booming making this growth possible.
Deleteand if Wizz leaves, pufff. SKP is gone
DeleteOMG. How'd you figure that out Anon? Of course if they leave SKP would suffer. But they are the biggest airline on the airport... Why would they possibly leave?
DeleteIf the MK Government close the tap of water, W6 is definitely saying adiós to Makedonja.
Deletelol
DeleteIf Wizz walks away, easyJet will come, if they leave Ryanair will come, if they go Norwegian will come... in the end if they all leave then Adria will come. :D
DeleteLOL! !
Delete9:38
Delete10:43
10:52
Sta reci, koju poruku poslati? Sto puta ponovljena laz postane istina?
9:10
DeletePeople around here just go on pretending TZL has ever had a choice.
BEG, SKP and SJJ will have much stronger growth in Q3 when planned new routes launch.
ReplyDeleteBEG should already improve in Q2 as most new routes by JU start in June.
DeleteOh yes my bad, mistook it for July. Same goes for Sarajevo since the Fly Bosnia flights are supposed to start in June.
DeleteWell according to this article in Q2 biggest growth will be in Croatia and then Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/04/ex-yu-markets-top-european-summer-growth.html
Is it realistic for SPU to overtake ZAG? I don't think so, if both have increase of around 5%.
ReplyDeleteIt won't overtake ZAG.
DeleteSPU will not overtake ZAG ever. And that is perfectly logical given that ZAG is the capital.
DeleteLet's see what happens this summer and how ZAG perofrms, they don't have much going on for them.
Delete"Given that ZAG is the capital". Logika sto na sat.
DeleteNot this year but next year there is a real chance Split will take Zagreb. But eventually something will have to give and LCC will come to Zagreb, when that happens, Zagreb could see some pretty decent growth rates.
DeleteSPU is overcrowded and till it develops taxiways and renews the runway it will not grow a lot. ZAD is already taking over traffic from SPU and will continue to grow. So SPU has more or less reached its plateau.
DeleteBelgrade's growth in first three quarters is all thanks to foreign airlines. Air Serbia's passenger numbers were down.
ReplyDeleteSame as in Ljubljana with Adria.
DeleteConsidering Air Serbia passenger share was just 38% in Q1 at BEG, their passengers numbers must have decreased quite a bit. It's good that BEG managed to sustain growth despite that.
DeleteBEG is doing ok. Not sure that target of 6.2 million will be reached. More likely 6.0.
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed with Sarajevo too. For its potential it should be handling much more passengers.
ReplyDeleteBy now Sarajevo should have been handling similar numbers to LJU. Pity. I think all that is required is for Wizz or someone similar to open a few routes and they would be there.
DeleteIf they made a deal with Wizz Air when they were offered flights it would have been a different story...
DeleteLjubljana airport should really wake up
ReplyDeleteWhy? It did relatively well especially if you factor in the problems Adria has been having.
DeleteYes, Ljubljana has actually increased its difference against Podgorica.
DeleteI think INI will soon join this list and be somewhere in the middle after the tender of the new routes. It will definitely be ahead of TZL. By that time, the gap with SKP will also be narrower and narrower as it is expected that there will be completely new routes from INI such as SZG, TIV and FCO - mainly central airports.
ReplyDeleteHahaha!
DeleteYesterday Wizz brought back INI-MMX which is great and it will help stabilize the situation at the airport.
DeleteCroatian airports are doing a great job.
ReplyDeleteTechnically all airports are except Tuzla, Mostar, Pula and Osijek.
DeleteCan someone explain why Dubrovnik grew so much in the dead season?
ReplyDeleteThe Dubrovnik Airport Management is one of the best in the region. The airport never stops growing. I mean come on mate, if they managed to secure flights from the US and even increased during the peak season what more?
DeleteI think the airport is now thinking of securing winter traffic as this is the new trend now in coastal cities in Europe.
Dubrovnik must really serve as one of the best Yugo examples of airport regional growth.
Asian tourists like Dubrovnik in the winter. A lot of Koreans and Chinese visitors.
DeleteNice and in summer we should see more American tourists thanks to the new American Airlines flights.
DeleteDubrovnik is a well run airport but the best run has to be BEG as it has the best combination of everything on a year round basis. You have your legacies, you have your LCC, you have charter flights the whole year to sunny destinations, you have New York...
Delete50% increase in tourism so far this year for Dubrovnik.
DeleteAll the best to all the hard working airports across ex yu.
ReplyDeleteI think Lufthansa will increase BEG next summer again, all flights until now are on A320/321. What's more chance of happening, 3rd from FRA or 4th from MUC?
ReplyDeleteMaybe something like this:
06.45-08.15
09.00-10.30
LH usually well plan their schedule in advance.
DeleteAccording to the current timetable, MUC is 3 daily and FRA is 2 daily starting March 2020.
MUC will likely to be operated with a CR9.
Well you are wrong. They scheduled their 3rd daily flight from Munich to Belgrade in middle of October 2018. So if there are any increases next year, they certainly won't put it on sale now, almost a year ahead.
DeleteThere will be no 4th flight to MUC nor a 3rd flight to FRA. LH organise their schedule much in advance. Simply check their timetable.
DeleteThis is done intentionally by limiting slots to LH to protect JU. Similar to the TK story.
Nothing new
If it is done so much in advance, why did they put tickets on sale for third daily Munich flight on 16th October 2018 for flight that started 30th March 2019?
DeleteThey can't just add a daily flight every year. 3rd daily MUC is a new service and will be available in summer only.
DeleteI didn't say they will add it but I just pointed out you were wrong as illustrated by the fact that you are avoiding answering my question.
DeleteNot really their style to add flights in the last moment. That's it. Maybe it was an exception.
DeleteBut all this was because you initially posted:
"I think Lufthansa will increase BEG next summer again, all flights until now are on A320/321. What's more chance of happening, 3rd from FRA or 4th from MUC?"
Response:
"They can't just add a daily flight every year. 3rd daily MUC is a new service and will be available in summer only."
Back to your classic of October 2018, then maybe in October 2019 they might announce 3rd daily FRA.
Peace?
I didn't post the original comment. In fact I don't think they will add more flights for next year either, I just made a point that it is not true that they would have necessarily already scheduled more flights if they were to add them.
DeleteOkay, amigo. Misunderstanding. Until next summer who knows what will happen.
DeleteThere might be more French carriers and less German ones now that BEG is French.
Now all we have to see is how much profit each airport makes. That's the most important :)
ReplyDeleteAm interested to see how Ljubljana will perform in Q2 and whether the Adria cuts will be more visible.
ReplyDeleteGreat news. Well done to all of them.
ReplyDeleteExcept for Tuzla...
DeleteThe gap between the top 3 is incredible
ReplyDeleteHow are the figures at Tirana, Sofia and Bucharest?
ReplyDeleteTIA - Until Feb 2019 - 398,298 +8% (if it was ex-YU it will be neck to neck with ZAG)
DeleteSOF - 1,597,818 - Q1 2019 + 4.5%
OTP - no official data since Dec 2018
Sofia was neck to neck with Belgrade, but now it is so far ahead.
DeleteSOF is expected to handle around 7,3 - 7,4 million this year. EW to STR and DUS, Lauda to VIE and new FR to BVA and MRS are latest additions in winter.
DeleteSOF is ahead by around 500.000 passengers which isn't that much of a difference. Also SOF growth is slowing down as the bloodbath is coming to its end and airlines are rationalizing their operations. By the end of 2019 the difference between the two will be around 1.2 million.
DeleteLets not be quick to judge yet. It will also depend which of the 5 bidders will win the concession next month.
DeleteSKP growth may be slowed down partially on account of OHD. OHD has very higj growth (>60%) for the same period.
DeleteAnon 13:30h, lets find out if ZAG and SKP will be the new SOF brothers if AP & TAV win the concession :D
Deletehttps://sofiaglobe.com/2019/04/11/bulgaria-receives-five-offers-in-sofia-airport-concession-tender/
I am looking at winter schedule and I see that OS ZAG-VIE will be 18 weekly. Did they increase it?
ReplyDeleteNo. OS has been flying ZAG-VIE 3 daily (except weekends) for several years. Both VIE and FRA are 5 daily from ZAG, only VIE has 3 OS and 2 OU and FRA 3 OU and 2 LH
DeleteAh ok, so no change then.
DeleteNot true. FRA is 3x OU and 3x LH = 6 per day.
DeleteWe are talking about winter here, not summer.
Delete