Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport has today reopened for all commercial flights, both from the European Union and third countries. However, without a local carrier, no scheduled services are expected before June due to the majority of airlines around Europe being grounded. “Fraport Slovenija welcomes the government's decision, as the lifting of restrictions is of crucial importance for operational flight planning by airlines. Most carriers have cancelled passenger flights to our airport until the end of May. Regardless of this fact, in the past few days, we have been preparing for the arrival of our first travellers and implemented necessary safety measures to restart passenger traffic”, airport operator Fraport Slovenija said in a statement. Ljubljana Airport has been closed for all commercial flights since March 17 in an effort to stem the flow of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.
Airlines operating flights to Ljubljana are currently drafting their June schedule. Lufthansa is expected to resume services to the Slovenian capital next month, while Air Serbia has also noted it will reintroduce flights between Belgrade and Ljubljana in June, although frequencies will be optimised. The airport’s busiest airline, easyJet, has said it plans to start gradually resuming services next month. The budget carrier has suspended plans to launch its new flights between Luton and Ljubljana this summer. Turkish Airlines is planning a gradual resumption of services from June and will take four months to return to near-full operations. Finnair, which maintains seasonal operations between Helsinki and Ljubljana, has suspended the route up to and including most of June. Similarly, British Airways has delayed the resumption of its seasonal flights between London Heathrow and the Slovenian capital. Services, which were initially to commence on May 22, will now restart on July 1, although further changes remain possible.
Fraport Slovenija said last month, "We expect for a gradual recovery in traffic and hope that after the restrictions are lifted, a timetable will be compiled as soon as possible, both in terms of the number of destinations and frequencies". The operator has seen its revenue decline 31.7% during the first quarter of the year to 6.9 million euros, as a result of the coronavirus and Adria Airways’ bankruptcy. Overall, it handled 191.680 passengers during the three-month period, down 44.1%. The company has now put forward a proposal to the Slovenian government for measures that could help it maintain liquidity and complete the ongoing construction of its new passenger terminal, which is scheduled for opening in late June of next year.
Good to see its reopened for EU and non-EU traffic. Wasn't expecting that.
ReplyDeleteNot. European Commission ordered countries to put ban for nonEU passengers till 15th June.
DeleteYes they did. Ban on non EU passenger is NOT a ban on non EU airlines. It is up to non EU airlines to decide whether it makes sense for them to fly - ie if there are enough EU citizens, residents or workers (who don't have to be EU citizens but are allowed to enter). You will surely see Turkish Airlines flying to EU even while this recommendation is in force. Same way many European airlines still fly to New York even though EU passengers are not allowed.
DeleteDon't forget that many permanent residence holders can enter and leave the EU so it's not all doom and gloom. A Ukrainian working in Maribor will be able to fly on Windrose from Kyiv and enter Slovenia without a single problem.
DeleteThis is great but we won't see flights for a while.
ReplyDeleteIf Adria was still around it would be a different story.
Delete+1 last anon.
DeleteIf Adria was still around my guess is they would have been bankrupted by Corona.
DeleteOr it could have gone the other way and the government probably would have saved them or at least given them a loan.
Deleteand then what? Fly to China with their CRJ9?
DeleteThey had A319s and A320s. They could have done cargo flights to China like most airlines did, with a stop somewhere. They wouldn't have had to pay big money to Trade Air and Fly Bosnia instead.
DeleteCorona would have saved JP big time. Government would give them millions to survive like other countries did with their carriers.
DeleteNot every country gave money to their airlines. Which is why many are going bankrupt.
DeleteLike which ones in Europe? Go on, tell us.
DeleteI wasn't referring specifically to Europe, but neither were you.
Delete"They wouldn't have had to pay big money to Trade Air and Fly Bosnia instead."
DeleteThey would only have to pay 151m EUR debt and then invest some money to make a viable business plan. Obviously chartering couple of flights was much more expensive than this.
"If Adria was still around it would be a different story."
If you look at how much they owed last year, there's no way they would have even made it to March this year.
@anon 10:17:
Deleteindeed. and according to the bankrupcty administrator the assets equal 6.2 million EUR in normal circumstances. talk about a soft pillow cushion for hard times.
Finally some positive news :)
ReplyDeleteIs Wizz Air still flying to LJU?
ReplyDeleteYes, from Charleroi. But they don't plan to start until 2nd of June.
DeleteGreat news! Time to shine!
ReplyDeleteThe year is going to be very tough on LJU. They are dealing with the virus plus Adria's absence.
ReplyDeleteDouble whammy.
DeleteSo Fraport is now trying to get state support to build the terminal?
ReplyDeleteThey said they would outline what they asked the government some time in the future. My guess is a loan of some sorts to finish the terminal.
DeleteGuessing Lufthansa and Swiss will start flights first.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Brussels Airlines? After all they were the first Lufthansa group member to start flying to Ljubljana after Adria went bust.
DeleteWell Lufthansa announced the other day that its group will be loading the June schedule in the system this week (they still haven't at the moment). Interestingly when they included the names of the airlines in their group no mention was made of Brussels Airlines or Austrian Airlines.
DeleteIt is interesting. Could that have anything to do with the uncertainty over their future in the LH group? Which airlines did they mention?
DeleteI don't know the reason. They mentioned Lufthansa, Swiss and Eurowings.
DeleteOk, thank you. Hopefully both Swiss and Lufty resume flights in June.
DeleteProbably because OS still doesn't know how many aircraft it will really have now that they are retiring close to 30 aircraft. Austrian Airlines as we know it is dead. Definitely end of an era.
DeleteOS is a huge mess. They are asking for 750 million government aid. The government wants strings attached, and the competition is looking and doesn't want any of this. So the OS/VIE situation will indeed be interesting in the next couple of months.
Deleteforget about Brussels...there is no way they will fly to tiny LJU with A319 and Swiss is ...on its knees already.
DeleteSwiss is really not doing well, 25% of their workforce might lose their job! That's disastrous. I fear we might see them go bankrupt. I am starting to think that Switzerland is too small and expensive market to have its own national airline.
DeleteSN is toast, they are firing around 1.000 people which is 25% of their workforce. On top of that their number of machines will drop from 54 to 38. To make things worse government aid is still pending and no one knows when it will be approved while SN keeps on losing a million per day. I don't see them coming back with Wizz Air flying from Charleroi.
DeleteLH Group is collapsing.
DeleteHelvetic was operating ZRH-LJU route on behalf of Swiss. LH group has canceled the agreement with them. Swiss has no suitable planes on not so busy routes. So forget direct connection with ZRH. It has become clear why a soverign country needs certain infrastructure. ... Sell out of Adria and its inevitable collapse (judging by the ammount of money they owe, majority of the income went to some remote island post-box company) has proven to be disasterous. Slovenia will have even less connections as in 1990 and Fraport will blackmail the state for financial support or buyout. There is no way there will be profit in next 5 years. And they need it to finance the new terminal.
DeleteLX planned its own metal for summer season, even before the crisis. LX was the first from the LH group that was saved by Swiss government. LG group will reorganise and will survive, much smaller, however that will be the case with more or less all major players. If you read Belgian news portals you can see that SN will dich ex Thomas Cook destinations, so most of their summer destinations and will focus on business routs, strengthening those with capitals of EU countries. First information from Fraport Slovenia employees: LH group with LH, LX and SN will be the first to start flying to LJU, together with Wizz.
DeleteLX didn't factor in collapsing demand when they planned to takeover LJU from Helvetica. That's why I'm uncertain what will happen in the future.
DeleteThe difference is not that big, 12 seats.
DeleteYes but under these circumstances ........
Deletewell they can't park the jets indefinitely. then it's game over.
DeleteLot will also be back on June 1st, if not earlier
DeleteSN is retiring 2 A332 and 8 A320. Let's see what happens with their ex-YU destinations.
DeleteAs Anon 15:12 said: "If you read Belgian news portals you can see that SN will dich ex Thomas Cook destinations, so most of their summer destinations and will focus on business routs, strengthening those with capitals of EU countries." They will not fly anymore to seasonal leisure destinations and the plan was to retire A319 and not A320. That was a plan in the morning, however, already in the afternoon situation changed: Belgian government wanted to invest 390 million EUR for 25% + 1 stock, that LH declined the offer and stopped the negotiations.
DeleteLH is behaving like a spoiled child, they need to be taught a lesson.
Deleteeasy jet still has flights scheduled to depart Ljubljana next week. Is there a chance these will be operated?
ReplyDeleteNo chance. Easyjet is grounded until June. But they are selling tickets for all destinations for the following week, hoping someone would buy a ticket which would boost their liqudity.
DeleteOk, thanks. Shame about Luton being cancelled though.
DeleteIt would be nice if in the future easy considers some other route from Ljubljana other than London.
DeleteCopenhagen would be nice.
DeleteDo they have a base in Copenhagen?
DeleteEZY doesn't have a base in CPH.
Deleteyes and 7 day quarantine on arrival is still in force. so not really sure that passenger will jump on that bad wagon right at day one, so the carriers are going slowly.
ReplyDeleteThis applies to EU citizens too?
Deleteyes, current rules apply to all persons. 7 day quarantine if you want to enter SLO. If you are a foreigner and don't have a residence in SLO or travel only for work, entry into country is denied. So for example no foreigners driving into SLO to catch a flight from LJU and vice-versa.
DeleteBut the rules can change. As far as it can be heard from the media this restriction could be voided with respect to Croatia in the near future, but the current Brač situation didn't help the matter.
Things are finally starting back up.
ReplyDeleteNow that we have the airport, we need flights :)
DeleteIronically Iberia still selling tickets MAD-LJU.
ReplyDeleteThose flights are scheduled to start at the end of July. It is possible that they will go ahead as normal.
DeleteUnfortunately I don't think Iberia will be in a position to launch new routes this year or next. They will have to shrink big time.
DeleteMost likely won't happen.
DeleteLet's wait and see.
DeleteSpain just announced the mandatory quarantaine of 14 days for all enetering Spain.
DeleteI am sure they will change that by the time summer comes otherwise no tourist with go there unless you can quarantine yourself on the beach with a cold cervesa.
DeleteWhat about charters this summer. All cancelled?
ReplyDeleteIt will depend on travel restrictions. Greece and Turkey may be a possibility but most will just go to Croatia (no flights required).
DeleteVery good news for LJU. Even partially, it is still something positive.
ReplyDeleteSadly, LJU-CRL will not be operated this winter. Flights are on sale until October and starting March 2021.
W6 are again ditching ex-Yu :(
Ljubljana-Charleroi became seasonal last year.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/08/wizz-air-to-end-three-ex-yu-routes-in.html
It's not related to corona.
Oh, thanks. I missed this one out. Lets hope they resume LTN or consider LGW.
DeleteI don't really miss Wizz for London, U2 and during peak summer month BA are much better options.
DeleteFraport Slovenija, the company operating the airport in Slovenia's capital Ljubljana, turned to a 2.2 million euro loss in the first quarter of 2020 from an 800,000 euro profit a year earlier, its parent - Germany’s Fraport Group, said on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteFraport Slovenija's revenue fell 32% on the year to 6.9 million euro in the January-March period, while its EBITDA was down by an annual 81% to 700,000 euro and its EBIT turned to a negative 2.4 million euro from a positive 1.0 million euro in the first quarter of 2019, Fraport Group said in a statement.
"In the first three months of 2020, the business of airport operator Fraport was heavily impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic," the statement read, adding that the group posted a net loss for the first time since its IPO in 2001.
Fraport turned to a 35.7 million euro loss in the first quarter of the year, after posting a 28 million euro net profit in the like period on 2019, with its consolidated revenue falling 18% on the year to 661 million euro.
"At all of Fraport’s Group airports worldwide, traffic volumes also diminished in March 2020, with the decline accelerating in April," the company said.
According to a report by state news agency STA on Tuesday, Fraport Slovenija has prepared a set of measures that it plans to propose to the government, asking for help to preserve its liquidity and complete on time its investment in building a new passenger terminal at the Ljubljana airport.
Fraport has reported earlier that passenger traffic at the Ljubljana airport decreased 44% year-on-year to 191,680 in the first three months of 2020. In March alone, when the ongoing coronavirus outbreak hit Europe and Slovenia suspended all passenger flights as of midnight on March 16, passenger traffic fell 73% to 36,409.
In 2019, passenger traffic at Slovenia's main airport fell 5.0% to 1,721,355.
Elsewhere in Southeast Europe, Fraport Group also operates the airports in the Bulgarian Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas.
Wow, publishing quarterly detailed financial reports. Well done Fraport!
DeleteWhat's the point of this comment? You have all of the info related to Ljubljana in the article above.
DeleteOne aspect is reopening, second financial effect. To understand what is happening with the airport you need to go beyond the headlines
DeleteThe article talks sbout LJU's financial results and that it's trying to get government support. You just have to read it (and not just the headline).
DeleteOne of most important thing that is missing is q1 loss ob -2.2mil and q1 is from Jan to end of march. Airport was closed from 17th of March. So in Q2 what do you think will happen to lju liquidity?
DeleteSo LJU might go bankrupt?
DeleteI think they are in much more serious situation than what they are indicating. The figures they had in their public speech have been selected to be true but without contexts would indicate that it is not so bad.
DeleteIf Q2 data will be even worse they will have 3 options to survive: government help, sell of airport or insolvency.
Aviation system in Slovenia had three pillars supporting it. Adria + Brnik + Slovenia control
When Adria went bust, one pillar was removed. Now only Brnik and Slovenia control have to hold the aviation sector together.
Corona is like a huge earthquake …. So, I’m concerned for the future of Aviation sector in Slovenia.
A lot of Nations did say that aviation sector is the key driver for restarting the economy in their countries. That’s why they did inject capital into it. Because of this I’m concerned about Slovenia’s ability to restart.
Plus JP was proactive and was growing, they were not static and geriatric like OU is for example. JP had a lot of transfers from the region and they were looking at new markets to expand into. Slovenia did lose a lot from JP bankruptcy.
Delete