Two airports from the former Yugoslavia have placed among the top eighty busiest on the continent this August, as well as in the top 100 so far this year, according to Airports Council International Europe (ACI). With a total of 717.050 passengers in August, Belgrade Airport ranked 68th ahead of the likes of Malta, Tirana and Sofia, but just behind Lyon, Krakow and Thessaloniki. Split Airport positioned itself as the 77th busiest with 625.622 travellers handled. It was ahead of Toulouse, Santorini and Turin but just behind Bordeaux, Eindhoven and Nantes. Dubrovnik, Pristina and Zagreb followed closely behind, taking up 103rd, 109th and 112th spot on the continent respectively.
August performance
During August, three markets from the former Yugoslavia outperformed their pre-Covid passenger figures, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, which saw 31.2% growth on August 2019, Kosovo with an increase of 22.7% and Macedonia with a 1.2% growth in travellers. Slovenia is still lagging behind almost all European markets in its recovery on 2019, outdone only by Belarus, which is unable to maintain any flights to European countries, with exception to Russia, due to wide-ranging sanctions. During the January - August period, only Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo posted better passenger performance in the region than prior to the global health emergency.
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| August performance by market |
Over the first eight months of the year, Belgrade Airport retained its position as the former Yugoslavia’s busiest with 3.572.011 passengers handled, ranking 77th in Europe. It was ahead of Riga, Tirana and Belfast but just behind the likes of Thessaloniki, Larnaca and Malta. Split Airport just made it into the top 100 by handling 2.147.203 travellers. So far this year, Istanbul’s main airport has been the busiest in Europe, handling over 41 million passengers. It was followed by London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam and Madrid. However, none of the major airports have reached their pre-Covid figures, with Istanbul being the closest, down 9.7% on the same period three years ago. The first of the larger airports to have surpassed their pre-pandemic results is Sochi, which has recorded growth of 79% on 2019 by handling 8.5 million passengers.
January - August performance
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Is this BEG's best ranking so far? I don't recall it being so high ever before? I expect September numbers to be fantastic.
ReplyDeleteGood cfor Belgrade and Split, but it is still not so good. I believe that Zagreb, Split, Dubrovnik and Belgrade could be in top 50 in summer time and at least top 75 in winter, all of them...
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately numbers say otherwise. BEG and SPU obviously have the most chances but I think only BEG in the region has the potential to be in top 50.
DeleteBEG, SPU and ZAG must be in top 50 during summer. I don't think ZAG can do it in next 2 years for sure but that would make an impact on OU and improve I hope
DeleteWithout transfers Zagreb doesn't have the market to be in top 50. Right now they are not even in top 100 which is kind of embarrassing
DeleteBelgrade would not make the top 50 without transfertraffic. Belgrade has a major hub in the Balkans that is currently being used by balkans in the region and mostly Russians. Belgrade is still far from being a popular point to point travel destination
DeleteMostly Russians? What utter nonsense is this? BEG was becoming a popular transfer airport for a while before the war. I guess those full flights from ATH, IST and so on with transfers to the West are there for Russians mostly. LOL!!!!!!
DeleteTourist arrivals in August grew by impressive 50% to reach 213.858!
Greece 7.700 (+263%)
Italy 6.001 (+221%)
Poland 9.059 (278%)
Turkey 13.944 (176%)
Israel 2.425 (134%)
China 2.905 (201%)
All of these tourists probably came by plane and just look at the number of Italians which probably has to do with more flights being offered by both JU and W6.
So please spare us your belittlement of Serbia. It has no room in reality when you look at the facts and numbers.
@Anonymous 09:47
Delete213.858 tourists for the month of August is still less than the number of tourists arriving just in the Greek island of Paros...
Are you seriously comparing Belgrade and a Greek island that is a sun and beach destination? This has to be the joke of the year.
DeleteGod what is he talking about? Russian transfer passengers? Obviously he has a huge issue with BEG being major player in the eastern Europe and becoming a mini transfer base in this part of Europe . I am very confident next year is going to out-preform all expectations since we are going to see more wide-body operation to BEG. Serbia has tourists all year around, while popular tourist destinations are very seasonal. I was looking at some flights over New Year and Christmas and flights are already 70% booked up in GDS.
DeleteAno9:47: Are you serious? you are really comparing the route network of mega airports like Istanbul by Turkish or Athens with Belgrade / Air Serbia. Turkish has a worldwide network, which of course is not primarily used by Russians. keep your Loling
DeleteTK only has 40 flights per day to Moscow.
DeleteBEG is growing and is on path to have 15 million passengers as Vinci plans. Just look at the pre covid growth BEG had:
Delete2009: 2,384,077
2019: 6,159,000
In a decade BEG more than doubled its numbers. This year it will surely reach 5 million. It's an impressive development and I am sure you will agree with me.
Just wanna let you know that air figures are not always necessarily a thing because road or rail transport also contributes to the country's tourism. Take an example: Serbia was the 5th most visited country for Bulgarians in August 2022 (page 2) - more than 50k. Many people from the Vidin or Vratsa region visit it regularly and if the highway gets open between Nis and Sofia those figures are probably gonna increase:
Deletehttps://nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Tourism2022-08_en_DHACVEV.pdf
Not sure what you mean. Highway between NiŠ and Sofia is open.
DeleteThere is a road, yes. But the highway is still under construction on the Bulgarian side. Serbia has finalised its part.
DeleteEven though there is road construction on Bulgarian side, delay is almost minimal.
DeleteNot bad at all
ReplyDelete"Slovenia is still lagging behind almost all European markets in its recovery on 2019, outdone only by Belarus"
ReplyDeleteThis is becoming depressing
Becoming? This IS depressing.
DeleteI am afraid LJU has to work its arse really hard if it wants to catch up, as many airports its size are way ahead and have plans for 2023.We just see Aegean for the time being.
DeleteSlovenia should ask USAID for help. They are helping some other airports in the exyu region.
DeleteWill be interesting to see if Split remains number 1 airport in Croatia this year
ReplyDeleteExpert says no.
DeleteZagreb really needs to wake up. I don't remember it ever being fourth on the list in ex-Yu
ReplyDeleteAnd here I was thinking Ryanair would change all that
DeleteIn August Zagreb is 5th in ex Yu.
DeleteWhat a disaster it would have been if FR had not come to ZAG.
DeleteDon't forget that BNX's meteoric rise is also affecting ZAG. Also LJU seems to be performing better now.
DeleteSo the difference between SJJ and SKP was only 50 thousand in August. The gap has been really narrowed.
ReplyDeleteWho would've thought...
I would. Bosnia has a larger diaspora, Sarajevo is much nicer to visit as a tourist destination and there is less competition from other airports around. SJJ's time is only coming now.
DeleteTrue dat. I heard really cool stuff about Sarajevo and hope to visit it next summer. And now the ski tourism is apparently on the rise. Cool stuff for BiH :)
DeleteWell if you say that Sarajevo is much nicher to visit, then I guess we'll just have to take your word for it.
DeleteSarajevo definitely isn’t nicer than Skopje, I’ve been to both and Skopje is a lot nicer than Sarajevo.
DeleteTirana airport champions of Europe.
ReplyDeleteI was looking at airBaltic's BEG fares and what is interesting is that the point of sale has been mostly from BEG so far.
ReplyDeleteJune: 24th
July: 22nd
August: 5th, 15th and 19th.
If this trend continues I could see them add a third weekly. It's good that we have someone putting pressure on JU and W6 in the Nordics.
Forgot to add, dates above is when the lowest fare is no longer available for BEG-RIX.
DeleteWhat is the lowest fare?
DeleteI think €78 to BEG and €80 from BEG.
DeleteHow can Malta be ahead of BEG?
ReplyDeleteIt has a population of only 500.000 people.
Just how Split was ahead of Zagreb last year, and Split has 150k but Zagreb 750k people
DeleteBecause it is the entry point to the whole country which is a major tourist destination.
DeleteSame way as Malta had significantly more passengers than Zagreb.
DeleteMetro Split has some 350,000 peeps.
DeletePalma de Mallorca has a population of 500k, airport had 30 million passengers in 2019. Sixty times more. Any other questions about airports being ahead of Belgrade, neighbour?
DeleteZAG will be second again on the end of the year...
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be so sure.
DeleteZAG could have been the first in ex-yu, with all benefits coming from that number one place, not just for bragging with it, if OU had started doing 15 or 20 years ago what JU is doing now. They had all preconditions for that. And as long as OU is corrupt pathetic feeder and servant, ZAG will drop more and more, which is so sad because it has always been ex-yu 's number two, just behind BEG
DeleteI am sorry but ZAG could never be ahead of BEG even if OU had a transfer market.
DeleteNo need to apologize for that fact. It is true.
DeleteWhen Jat Airways was down on the knees, Malev bankrupt, Aegean still small, Tarom and Bulgaria Air insignificant, Bosnia, and Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania without LCC'S, tourism in Croatia started re-booming, but coastal airports without significant presence of LCC'S as well, Croatia Airlines was in position to make ZAG true hub and overtake BEG. I am not here about "mine is bigger" but about the facts you call for. And the facts are that the diferrence between ZAG and BEG at the time I talk about was only 200.000 passengers per year. So, I am sorry, but if OU had done what I 've been proposing, they could have overtaken BEG. You like it or not.
DeleteNo, they couldn't. Croatia has many coastal airports which offer frequent and direct connections to all around Europe nowdays, so don't expect 10 millions of passengers would transfer over ZAG. Also, you see that with all 25 new Ryanair lines to ZAG nothing really happened.
DeleteThe same could be said of Ljubljana and Adria. Well, things turned out differently. Ljubljana or Sarajevo will never have more passengers than Zagreb, just as Zagreb will never have more passengers than Belgrade
Delete@An.12.02
DeleteNot sure you are so good in maths. If OU managed to transfer via ZAG only 15 % of coastal 8 million passengers, it is 1.200.000, as transfers are doubke-counted, it's 2.400.000. If they grew they network to attract only 500.000 more transfers from the Balkans, double-counted, it's million more. Added to current 3.000.000 makes more than BEG today. Ryanair just started, in pLandemic times, so it can't be seriously discussed, I firmly believe they will continue to grow in ZAG, but they are not the issue I talk about, the issue is Croatia Airlines which has been missing every oportunity to grow and to contribute to ZAG growth. Greek islands airports also have millions of passengers and thousands of connections, yet Aegean manages to transfer via ATH incomparably more passengers than OU via ZAG, in absolutely numbers u, and in percents. The same goes for Balkan transfer passengers. The same goes for BEG and Air Serbia. And if you are refusing to accept all my numbers, comparisons and explanations, then in my opinion you have a problem.
There has long been a clear trend towards direct flights, without transfers, especially for summer beach holiday trips and short trips. And unlike Greece, Croatia is a car destination. But of course it would be nice if Croatia could generate more transfers.
DeleteZagreb too!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I would like to congratulate to Belgrade and Split airport.
ReplyDeleteYesterday and day before I had my first Flight. From Lagos to Port Harcourt with United Nigerian Airlines, from there to Kano with Air Peace and from Kano to Lagos with Arik Air. I guess you would not be interested to hear about my trip if I send it as trip report but that is OK.
I hope Air Serbia's success story can be rewritten in Nigerian air industry so one day I can come to Belgrade with some Nigerian Airlines, visit ExYu countries and these wonderful airports and than come back to Lagos with Air Serbia.
Wishing you all the best in anticipation of new news and long haul flights to Nigeria
Owuwuele Ukambasa
I mean my first flight inside Nigeria. And I did 3 so I can do 3 airlines.
DeleteOwu, are you from Yugo region?
DeleteJeste sigurno, Ukambase su od Vasojevića oko Kolašina.
DeleteOwu, write abt your trip reports.
DeleteIn respect to raising numbers of passengers among Soth East Europian airports, Belgrade Airport will be close to fifty position on continent. That results is achievable in next
ReplyDeleteten years.on Serbian hub Belgrade. ✈🌐🛫
Dear Rodney its great to have you and your optimism back! Always a legend and an expert in the industry.
DeleteZdravo Anon 16.33. Hval Vam za complimentarne reci. Mojih preko pola veka provedenih sa ljudima na aerodromima sveta i avionima omogucilo mi je da sa mojim veoma skromnim znanjem i dosta vecim svedocenjem omoguci da se ponekada pojavim i na portalima i blogovima. Kako van Srbije tako i u Otadzbini, na ovom EX YU - Aviation blog.
DeleteZahvaljujuci trudu i optimizmu vise od pet milijardi ljudi plove u podnebesju Gospodnjem. Iz toga potice i vera u sadasnji i buduci razvoj komercijalne avijacije Srbije i razvoj i gradnja aerodroma u ovoj zemlji.
Kao i mnogim
drzavama sirom sveta. Pesimizam, mrznja i zavist pada u domen medicine. Vazduhoplovstvu je potrebna vera ,ljubav, trud i preduzimljivost. U Srbiji toga ima, mada mnogo truda i upornosti ovde potrebno je dodati. Er Srbija i Aerodrom Nikola Tesla Beograd su baza ne samo Srbije, vec i Balkana. Dok Aerodromi
DeleteSrbije polako dobijaju svoje mesto. Mada aerodromima Morave i Ponikve mora se efikasnije ostvariti dogradnja...
Postovanje i pozdrav.
Rodney & Assoc.
It’s easy to grow like that when you start from zero. Let’s see in 2 years will the growth continue
ReplyDeleteJust checking and comparing other airports in the region with similar characteristics (August 2022)
ReplyDeleteBEG 3,572,597 vs TIA 3,405,723
DBV 1,544,960 vs BOJ 1,347,591
SKP 1,387,362 vs TLL 2,050,822
SPU 2,147,203 vs PFO 2,093,366
Tirana's rise is primarily the result of tourism which took off in Albania during Covid as it was one of the few countries in the world that was continuously open. The majority of toruists are going to the Albanian coast and not Tirana.
DeleteYes, but they also recently opened Kukes Airport in July 2021. It is mainly a gasto airport, but that does not mean it cannot have new flights.
DeleteKukës.
Delete^ imagine what the difference will then be between TIA and Zagreb, an EU capital, NATO member, Schengen member, Eurozone member. Lol love all the jelousy some people are displaying today
ReplyDeleteOf course, TIA will be also the champion of wide body traffic :)
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 12:11
ReplyDeleteNo need to go for widebody traffic and prestigious routes to the US and China.
They just need to keep doing what they have been doing so far and they will be ahead of both BEG and SOF by next year.
TIA will never be ahead of BEG and SOF because there isn't so much capacity in Albania to host so many passengers. Also don't forget that they are building another airport in the south of the country. TIA will reach 5 to 6 million max and will stay there. There is only so much O&D demand Albania can handle.
ReplyDeleteForeign carriers are definitely optimistic about BEG this winter. I looked at their offer for the week starting November 7th and the offer isn't bad.
ReplyDeleteLH
FRA 13x
MUC 13x
LO 9x
OS 18x
LX 16x
KL 14x
TK 21x
A3 4x
I guess they all expect solid demand to their hubs this winter season. Hopefully this means more flights for next year, Aegean is already increasing BEG to 5. Let's see what the rest of them do. Hopefully LO increases BEG to 14 and MUC gets back the third daily flight.
+1
Deletewhen will belgrade reach 15 million according to vinci?
ReplyDeleteThe only reak surprise in this ranking is ZAD.
ReplyDelete'real'
DeleteTirana, Sarajevo even Banja Luka underperfomed up until recently for a variety of reasons. It is relatively easy to make significant steps when you start way below your potential. Having sequential 30-50% growth streak for more than 4-5 years is always a significant challenge.
ReplyDeleteTIA did not start from zero. In 2019, it was just behind ZAG in terms of numbers. Tourism had already started picking up way before Covid. In fact, there are some flights that were cut or severely reduced because of that, like the Israir to TLV or Finnair to HEL. This year there were no Ukrainian tourists either. In recent year they have made up a large portion of incoming summer tourists.
ReplyDeleteZAD just went over a million, and is 8th in the overall list.
ReplyDelete