EX-YU airports top European pre-pandemic capacity growth


Several airports from the former Yugoslavia are recording large-scale growth in available seat capacity this quarter when compared to the same period during the pre-pandemic 2019. The majority have already surpassed their pre-Covid passenger figures or are close to doing so. During the third quarter, from the beginning of July until the end of September, which are considered some of the busiest months in the aviation calendar, Zadar Airport has added over 157.100 additional seats compared to 2019, growing its capacity levels by 67.5% on three years ago and ranking seventeenth in Europe for Q3 capacity growth. The main driver for these strong results is Ryanair, which based three aircraft in the coastal city this summer operated by its subsidiary Lauda Europe and launched a handful of new routes.

Sarajevo Airport is 25th in Europe for capacity growth this quarter, growing its available seats by 48.8% on 2019. Wizz Air, which has two aircraft based in the city, was the main contributor, however, the airport has seen a significant number of new routes and carriers launch flights over the past two years. Ranking 34th in Europe this quarter is Podgorica Airport, which has seen its seat capacity levels grow 34.6% on three years ago. The Montenegrin capital has added an additional 85.604 seats. Almost all carriers maintaining flights from the city have increased their operations this year, although Air Montenegro is yet to reach levels sustained by the now defunct Montenegro Airlines.

Pristina Airport is close behind Podgorica, ranking 38th in Europe this quarter in terms of additional seats. The airport is registering a 19.4% capacity increase this quarter and has an additional 75.516 seats on sale. Pristina has seen several airlines increase their operations this year and is one of the best performing European airports in terms of post-Covid recovery. Overall, Tirana Airport has seen the biggest capacity growth in Europe this quarter, with almost half a million additional seats on sale compared to three years ago. It is followed by Paris Orly Airport, Santorini, Heraklion, Corfu, Naples, Bari, Olbia and Chania.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:07

    Well done. Al off them have really impressed a lot this year

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  2. Anonymous09:10

    What has caused such an increase in PRN? I don't remember some airline launching a lot of new flights. Unless it's one of those charter airlines operating for tour operators

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:33

      An incredible number of people have left the country permanently and are coming home to visit relatives. At this point I think there's more Kosovars living outside of Kosovo than in it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:44

      What does that have to do with capacity increase?

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    3. Anonymous11:06

      Nothing. They love commenting that bs whenever PRN is mentioned. Copium at its best.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:41

      The question wasn't about capacity but what caused the sharp pax increase at PRN. I'm sorry if anyone's feelings got hurt by reality.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:43

      The original poster makes no mention of passengers. He comments on an article about increased capacity.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:10

    Wow, look at Zadar, impressive. What means when you have Ryanair

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:24

      Imagine if Ryanair kept some routes over winter. Zadar numbers would explode.

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    2. Anonymous11:31

      Who's going to fly to ZAD in the winter? SPU doesn't exactly generate big winter numbers. The locals who work in tourism are all on their annual 9 month rest from working Sep-Jun

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    3. Anonymous11:51

      Ryan flies more than Jun-Sep iz ZAD (I think Apr-Oct) so they are already doing something for ZAD seasonality.

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    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    5. @anon 11:13 not well informed. Given wide LCC net ZAD atracts travellers from much wider area than the city itself.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:15

    Interesting. I would say ZAD and SJJ is down to LCCs (Ryan and Wizz). Not sure what caused such an increase in TGD though.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous21:06

      Austrian doubled flights and here are new airlines like Air Astana, Flynas...

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:16

    Nice to see

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  6. Anonymous09:16

    Both ZAD and SJJ will finally have over a million passengers this year.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:21

      ZAD would have it in 2020 had there not been the pandemic

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    2. Anonymous10:52

      Sarajevo might reach a million by the end of August or probably in the first week of September. There were 210.000 pax in July (1-7: 770.000 pax) and there are 280.000 seats available in August.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous12:59

      @9.15 Sarajevo has already had over a million passengers in the past.

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    4. Anonymous12:59

      In 2018 and 2019.

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    5. Anonymous13:01

      Sarajevo will have V shapes recovery.

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    6. Anonymous21:07

      It has already recovered.

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  7. Anonymous09:17

    It seems the pandemic was Sarajevo's blessing in disguise.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:19

      It certainly woke then up. Also the government getting rid of that silly tax for using SJJ helped.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:59

      Yes, you are 100% right!

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/10/bosnia-scraps-aviation-development-tax.html

      No wonder why LJU is struggling and Ryanair have complained many times that it is an expensive airport. Still unsure how much it is as the info is quite hidden.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:29

      LJU is at just 54.7% of 2019 capacity levels in Q3 which is the lowest in Europe. Only Belarus has lower.

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    4. Anonymous11:33

      Weren't we told we shouldn't compare apples and pares when it comes to Slovenia's recovery? Seems like we can only compare ourselves to Belarus.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous15:53

      Some people on Ex-yu are blaming covid for LJU disastrous figures. According to them, previous government was intentionally spreading the virus in order to ensure a total lock-down.
      On the other hand (not something that Ex-yu experts are willing to admit), Adria was the only reason LJU had as many passengers as it had.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous21:07

      True. Plus Adria turned Ljubljana into a transfer airport. Now we can only dream about that ever happening again.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:00

      It still makes me laugh when I hear comments like: "The government won't be using my hard hard money to subsidize Balkan transfer passengers". So-called experts :D. The sad thing is they have the right to vote :(.

      Delete
  8. Anonymous09:18

    I'm wondering where ZAG and BEG are at

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:31

      Not sure about ZAG and BEG in particular but Croatian market is at 102% of 2019 levels during the third quarter and Serbia is at 110%.

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    2. Anonymous12:58

      Thanks

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:56

    Congratulations SJJ! Absolutely well deserved. Hard work and good management. Very good mix and balance of legacy and LCC. Hopefully it sees bigger destinations such as Amsterdam or Paris. The Middle East carriers are a good addition.

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  10. Anonymous10:54

    None of these airports were impacted by the cuts major European airlines are making at the moment.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:11

      Sarajevo has had some Eurowings flights cancelled.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous11:27

    Now to see if all those seats can actually be filled

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  12. Anonymous11:28

    Good work by most. Congratulations

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  13. Anonymous11:33

    Numbers seem to be ahead of global trends.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:58

      While LJU is far below of global trends.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous11:36

    How many airport in ex-Yu are already above pre-Covid levels for January - July?

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:41

      As far as I know: Pristina, Zadar, Sarajevo, Nis and Banja Luka are above 2019 levels.

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    2. Anonymous12:52

      and Podgorica too.

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    3. Anonymous12:57

      TGD hasn't surpassed 2019 yet. They surpassed it in July but not between January - July

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    4. Anonymous22:01

      ^ True, my bad. But they will definitely surpass it this year.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous22:01

    How did Tirana add so many seats???

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous00:08

      Wizz Air based a lot of planes in TIA.

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    2. Anonymous00:08

      And also Albania got discovered by many people during Covid because they had no entry restrictions or requirements throughout the whole pandemic. So tourism is booming and many people are traveling there.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous00:41

      Really impressive. Well done.

      Delete

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