Macedonian airports plan development, recovery and growth in 2022


The airports in Skopje and Ohrid are aiming for a busy 2022 which should include infrastructure development, as well as the continued return of passengers and airlines. Metin Batak was named as the General Manager of airport operator TAV Macedonia in October 2020, taking over at a challenging time as the aviation industry continues to suffer the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. However, Mr Batak has been involved with TAV Macedonia since its foundation. EX-YU Aviation News spoke to the General Manager about the current state of affairs and outlooks for the future during these unprecedented times.

Are you satisfied with the results Skopje and Ohrid have achieved in 2021 in light of the pandemic?

According to our air traffic statistics, Macedonian airports jointly served approximately 1.4 million passengers this year which is around 76% above 2020, but 48% below 2019 which we now consider as a point of reference in the aviation industry. Undoubtedly, we saw the first signs of air traffic recovery at Skopje and Ohrid airports in 2021, especially during the high summer season when European countries lifted the travel ban for Macedonian passport holders. In addition to this, many foreign countries had a ban on non-essential travel since the start of the pandemic in 2020, which was eased last year as vaccination certificates became the main air travel document worldwide. For most of the EU/Schengen countries, Covid-19 vaccination certificates became a sort of a replacement for the so called “essential reason for travel”, which was the main obstacle for air travel for Macedonian citizens. 

If we review airports in Europe, according to Airports Council International Europe’s (ACI) analysis, October 2021 showed improvement in passenger traffic levels, however at an uneven pace. The pace of recovery varies and it’s prone to new blows the pandemic may bring, especially as airports now brace for the impact of Omicron. Our market will “sail” in the same direction, since aviation is a highly internationalised business, therefore, it is highly dependable on global events and developments.

Having all this in mind, we are satisfied with the achievements and we will continue in our efforts to find the best operational decisions in order to cope with the changing business environment, as a result of the pandemic.
 
What are TAV’s targets for Skopje Airport in 2022 in terms of passenger numbers?

The uncertainties brought on by the pandemic still makes it very hard to make estimates. Although there are different scenarios, global aviation bodies foresee the recovery to continue in 2022 and reach around 80% of pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the recovery of the Macedonian market should move within ACI’s forecast for global air traffic recovery, although as a developing and a fast-growing market, as we were prior the crisis, we may “rise” a little bit faster than the developed EU aviation markets. ACI’s analysis for European airports show that in 2024/2025 we will get back to pre-crisis levels. Therefore, our expectation of around 80% passenger traffic in 2022 is in line with estimates made by renowned global aviation organisations.

Skopje Airport will overhaul its runway in 2022, what does the project exactly involve?

Rehabilitation means that we will practically renovate the upper layer of the asphalt of the runway and, as a result, during this period, between 9.00 and 17:30, from March 28 until May 16, 2022, there will be construction works on the runway. Each day, in the noted hours and time period, we will rehabilitate one part of the total length of the runway, in order for the airport to remain operational, i.e. so we can normally handle flights during the remainder of the day, from 17:30 until 9.00.

We have made this decision in consultation with all airlines that fly from Skopje Airport, as well as other stakeholders, such as the Ministry for Transport and Communications, the Civil Aviation Agency, etc. Our aim is to complete the rehabilitation works with minimal impact on traffic.

Due to the pandemic, Skopje has lost links to the Middle East since Flydubai and Qatar Airways have suspended flights. Do you have any indication if and when these services could resume?

The aviation landscape is constantly changing due to the developments regarding the pandemic, and it is not easy to plan ahead under these circumstances. Looking at our previous experiences, we are confident that the suspended routes will resume when it is convenient for the airlines. In the ten years leading up to the pandemic, we managed to increase traffic at Macedonian airports fourfold, to 2.7 million. During the same period, the number of destinations served increased to 44 from fifteen. As part of the largest global airport management platform, we will continue our marketing efforts to re-establish suspended routes and add new ones. For now, the decisions on restrictions etc. are made by health authorities and we have to abide by the regulations.
 
Are there any plans to expand existing infrastructure at Ohrid Airport?

Yes, there is a plan to develop and expand Ohrid Airport infrastructure, and the construction works will be done phase by phase, depending on many factors, first and foremost on the increase in air traffic, as well as the dynamic and realisation of Skopje Airport’s runway rehabilitation project, and, of course, the Omicron impact on air travel restrictions by EU countries, where almost 80% of Macedonian air traffic is concentrated.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:04

    80% of pre pandemic would be a great result.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:04

    SKP did relatively OK last year. It was ahead of ZAG for most of the year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:10

      ZAG was affected because of EU law. It was quite obvious. This year will be absolutely different following Ryanair's arrival.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:14

      EU restrictions on Macedonian citizens were much stricter and widespread.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:35

      At the end of the day, both airports are managed by the same company :D

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:05

    So what happens to airlines flying late afternoon, evening and early morning from Skopje during the runway reconstruction. Will they fly to Skopje instead or cancel flights completely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:18

      * I mean will they fly to Ohrid instead (not Skopje)

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:30

      Some will but I think most operating in those hours will just cancel. Ohrid has limited space.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:37

      Airline still haven't modified their timetables. TK is still showing both of its flights operating to Skopje when both are scheduled during the closure period.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:06

    In the end I think we may see Wizz launch Skopje-Abu Dhabi in place of the Gulf carriers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      That was the plan. They even signed agreement with Macedonian government but I don't know why it never happened.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:08

    SKP depends mainly on Australia and Wizzair's secondary and tertiary destinations serving the Albanian/Kosovar diaspora as an alternative airport of PRN. It would be challenging attracting a major airline to the airport because the market is quite small. Ohrid has a bit more of potential in summer attracting more Poles, Ukranians or Romanians. There is a lack of advertising in Romania. It's a huge market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:09

      funny

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:09

      What is funny? The truth?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:48

      the nationalist trolling.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:52

      What are you talking about? You can check the facts online. Here is an example from TAV:

      http://skp.airports.com.mk/en-EN/media-centre/press-releases/page/tav-promotes-ohrid-airport-in-albania-discussions-for-introduction-of-a-shuttle-bus-for-passengers-between-elbasan-and-ohrid-airport

      Delete
    5. Anonymous14:21

      what facts lol? read your link again. its an info about an initiative to promote an airport which is pretty decent... and it has nothing to do with SKP anyway and good luck of finding any "facts" in that article that leads to your "depends". rekla kazala

      you should step out of your ethnic bubble dude. its 2022.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous14:31

      hillarious when somebody from the Balkans is describing any EU airport as "tertiary". Haha!

      Delete
    7. Anonymous15:25

      So many triggered regional princesses today. When the official facts are shown to you, you start with your rekla kazala ritual. Anyway, we know why PRN today is the second busiest airport in ex-Yu. Hoping SKP secures more tertiary destinations in the future and more room for growth.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:10

    I wonder if SKP should reach out to JU to work with them on improving regional connectivity. Air Serbia could restore some routes they lost as the ATR would be ideal.

    They could offer them:

    SKP-TGD
    SKP-LJU
    SKP-LJU
    SKP-TIV (in summer)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      SKP-SJJ*

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:13

      Agree. It's unfortunate because SKP use to have great ex-Yu connectivity a few years ago.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:29

      Plus I don't think Wizz will ever launch any of these since their planes are too big. Also JU could easily base its own staff for a few days in SKP since now thanks to Open Balkans no new work permits are needed between Serbia, North Macedonia and Albania.

      I think they could operate one afternoon flight to SKP (at 19.00) and then after the crew rest operate a whole day of regional flights out of SKP. They could do this twice a week.

      I think the ATR could easily do four rotations in a day from SKP so it's enough to cover LJU, SJJ, TGD and TIV.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:34

      JU would only do it if it is incentivize by Macedonian government or TAV.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:59

      Well I am sure they would give them money, they keep on going on about regional connectivity.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous11:10

      But why would JU do that and have extra costs with crew base when it can just transfer passengers via BEG? There was some article here recently which showed that thir main transfer destination from Ljubljana was Skopje.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous11:10

      But in any case TAV should work on getting flights to Ljubljana. The only other option I see is Wizz Air.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous11:13

      the Open Balkans is an interesting point

      because Wizz will never launch intra exyu routes as we see ...

      SKP-SJJ would be possible too. Macedonian and Bosnian gov were keen to sponsor such a route

      Delete
    9. Nemjee11:18

      Because those extra costs JU would have would be compensated by additional revenue, profits and stronger brand recognition in North Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Montenegro. All markets where they fly to from either BEG, INI or both.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous10:37

    Any new routes for Skopje this year?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:44

      According to new route launches list on the right there is:

      Skopje - Turin
      March 03 - Wizz Air

      Tel Aviv - Skopje
      May 20 - Israir Airlines

      Izmir - Skopje
      June 19 - SunExpress

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:50

      Thanks

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:22

      Pegasus wil have a weekly charter to Izmir as well (if it happens because of the pandemic)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:24

      And Pegasus will generally increase capacity to SKP
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/11/pegasus-to-boost-skopje-capacity.html

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:34

      Ohrid: TUIfly from Brussels are back

      Delete
  8. Anonymous10:44

    Both Skopje and Ohrid would need a better ILS. Just look at Pristina, they know that of an aircraft can't land, all the other airport infrastructure are worthless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:51

      Does SKP have CAT IIIb?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:11

      Cat I.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:24

      Thanks. Is it possible to install CAT III or are there limitations because of terrain like in Sarajevo?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:57

      There are limitations but it would only be a question of willingness (just like in SJJ, it would require effort and investment but it would pay out, just check what is happenning there now - yesterday and today).

      Delete
  9. Anonymous10:50

    Pity the Russia flights didn't work out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:57

      Nordwind suspension is only temporary.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:02

      They are operating a few flights in January and then resume 2 weekly flights on 1st March. No big deal.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:16

      russian tourists are in the top 10 since september. never had that situation before

      Delete
  10. still hope for Basel-Skopje with Easy jet..

    ReplyDelete
  11. still hope for Basel-Skopje with Easy jet..in the online timetable they are EZS1149/1150 4/7 with A320...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:23

      There are no Basel-Skopje flights on sale online.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:27

      where do you see that? that would be like if they woke up from a 10 years winter sleep? :D

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:37

      ok i found it. wow lets hope they stick to it.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:41

      There is nothing on their site and no tickets are on sale.

      Delete
    5. yes i know..only on the euroairport home page..maybe it's a mistake..

      Delete
  12. Ohrid air port (cowshed) needs urgent reconstruction,
    You arrive at an African cowshed how embarrassing?
    Pls pls pls do something there that will be respectable

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous17:18

      Which part of Ohrid looks African? Could you please share more details about your experience? Do you mean those retro arches?

      Delete

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