Skopje Airport working to restore Gulf flights

NEWS FLASH


Skopje Airport Is working on restoring links to the Gulf, over two and a half years after flights were shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic. Flydubai and Qatar Airways maintained services from Dubai and Doha respectively to Skopje up until March 2020. Since then, Flydubai scheduled its return to the Macedonian capital on two occasions but never followed through on its plans, while Qatar Airways has told EX-YU Aviation News services to Skopje would resume once commercially viable. The General Manager of airport operator TAV Macedonia, Metin Batak, noted, “Almost all destinations maintained from Macedonia’s two airports prior to the Covid-19 crisis are now back, except for Doha and Dubai from Skopje Airport. TAV Macedonia is working to retrieve these two destinations, as they offered solid transfer connections for the Macedonian diaspora in Australia and New Zealand, as well as connections for travellers going to Japan, China, India and exotic destinations in the East”. Flydubai launched flights to Skopje in October 2012. In its last three years of operations, passenger numbers averaged at around 27.000 per year. Qatar Airways handled 29.856 travellers on its Skopje route in 2019. The majority of its Skopje passengers were transfers. They primarily originated or were destined for the Australian market - 33%, followed by India 7%, Thailand 5% and Singapore 4%.

Comments

  1. Anonymous16:03

    At least one of then is needed for decent connections.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:03

      *them

      Delete
    2. Anonymous16:25

      We need direct flights to dubai
      Its good for people from
      North Macedonia to have it a part of trasnfers
      connection To Australia
      Theyre 150k of them in australia….

      Delete
  2. Anonymous17:34

    Does anyone know if Qatar carried any transfer passengers from North America to its flights to SKP? I know it's a lot of backtracking, but it was the only OneWorld carrier at the airport.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Based on 2019 data almost none. There were a couple of passengers to Boston and a few to New York but total number was less than ten.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:26

      We need dubai connection too

      Delete
  3. Anonymous18:17

    Qatar Airways are either gonna start SKG or SKP and I think they will go for SKG.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous18:59

      Read the article: "while Qatar Airways has told EX-YU Aviation News services to Skopje would resume once commercially viable" i.e. there is no demand.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous18:54

    flydubai are short of aircraft as it is. They are already hiring in external capacity trying to expand. Both manufacturers are seeing slowed down deliveries due to supply chain issues. Qatar has a respectively small narrow body fleet and new narrow bodies are still some time out. My money would be on flydubai but not before winter 2023.

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  5. Anonymous22:08

    how about AMS, FRA, CDG, LHR where demand is Huge?

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    1. Anonymous01:49

      KLM at AMS cancels flights every weak due staff shortages so they defenitly won't start new routes. There is demand though airlines as LOT told that they have a lot of connectiong passengers from AMS and it's one of the busiest unpreserved routes. FRA there is demand but I don't know their situation right know. German airports and airlines are also not at their top level right now. CDG and LHR need stronger demand especially CDG. But for SKP AMS and FRA are defenitly needed(even one would be nice). We can without CDG and LHR. But as things go now it won't happen soon.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous00:15

    Macedonian minister for transport was visiting this days Abu Dhabi and say they are working on for flight Abu Dhabi - Skopje.

    But my opinion is that no gulf carrier will come to SKP for not even 2 milion passengers until this day.

    Doha and Qatar will not come back SKP until the airport complitely not rehabliate its passengers numbers to at least 2.5 in a year. We can expect that probably 2024.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:27

      They have over 2 milion passengers a year
      Plus theyres 150k north macedonian diaspora in australia.
      We dont want flight to abu dhabi
      They can fly to sharjah airport is 8 min away from dubai emirati

      Delete
  7. Anonymous12:00

    The pre-covid period in SKP with QR, FZ and TK offering connections to everywhere was almost surreal. Good old times...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous13:45

    Yes but now we are far away from that reality before the Covid , and need time for good recovery as the old destinations also and new ones.

    ReplyDelete

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