Macedonia to maintain airline subsidies

The Macedonian government plans to continue offering airline subsidies for low cost carriers in the future with the current three-year agreement with Wizz Air set to end in 2022. As part of its three-year commitment to provide Wizz Air with financial incentives, the state has forked out 1.1 million euros this year. “The state sees all airlines operating on the Macedonian market as serious partners for the development of air traffic in the country and we will continue to work with them”, the government said. Over the past decade, Macedonia has granted incentives for the launch of new routes to interested carriers through a public tender in three-year intervals. All have been won by Wizz Air, which was the only one to show interest.

The operator of the country’s two international airports, TAV Macedonia, has endorsed the policy. “State subsidies for low cost airlines were one of the foundations of growth and prosperity on the Macedonian aviation market prior to Covid-19. As an airport operator, we have supported this model from the very beginning of its implementation, because we believe this is the right tool for emerging markets, such as the Macedonian one”, Metin Batak, the General Manager of TAV Macedonia said. He added, “Government subsidies, along with our efforts to attract new airlines, have resulted in a fourfold increase in passenger traffic within ten years, from 2010 to 2020. New destinations that were launched in the past ten years created a completely new category of passengers, who previously did not even consider air transport as an alternative to land transport. Therefore, we will continue to support government subsidies for low cost flights and continue to invest our global knowledge and skills in order to attract new airlines and expand our network of destinations from Skopje and Ohrid airports”.

Pristina Airport and Austrian Airlines have previously complained about the policy. The Austrian carrier said the subsidies provided by the Macedonian government to stimulate low cost airlines to operate flights to the country were unfair and distorted competition. At the time, the carrier noted it was difficult to compete in such an environment and under such circumstances. Pristina Airport had requested for the European Commission to investigate state subsidies offered to low cost airlines operating out of Skopje. Pristina Airport's General Manager, Haldun Fırat Kokturk, previously said, "We, as an airport operator, can compete with another airport operator - competition is normal, it is good. But we cannot compete with a government”.