Macedonia launches subsidy tender


The Macedonian Ministry for Transport and Communications has issued a public call for airlines to request financial support for the introduction of new routes from Skopje and Ohrid airports for the period between January 1, 2023, and December 30, 2025. Compared to the previous three public calls, all of which were won by Wizz Air, the tender includes new terms and conditions, in an attempt to diversify the country’s offer of airlines and available destinations. Carriers interested in applying for the tender must be from Europe, have carried at least ten million passengers and generated 25 million euros in profit in 2019. Furthermore, the airline is obligated to continue operating the new routes past December 30, 2025, for a period of at least two to three years. If it fails to do so, it will have to return the funds granted by the state.

Under the terms outlined in the public call, airlines must maintain flights to the newly launched destinations at least twice per week throughout the year for the duration of the financial assistance, develop a plan for marketing and promotion and submit a report on its operations to the Ministry of Transport and Communications every six months The Ministry will select the winner based on the number of weekly flights offered on the new routes, the volume of passengers at the destination airport (the busier the airport the greater the chance of the route being subsidised), as well as the amount of offered capacity. Funding will not be provided for routes from Skopje which have been operated from the airport in the past two seasons (summer and winter), nor from Ohrid if they have been operated either from the lakeside city or the Macedonian capital over the past two seasons.

Macedonia will subsidise the services by providing each airline with seven euros per passenger on each new route from Skopje, and 4.5 euros per passenger on each new route from Ohrid. Interested applicants have until January 19 to submit their bids. Wizz Air was the only airline to have applied to all three previous public calls. The Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Blagoj Bočvarski, noted, “The new model aims to include as many airlines as possible and not be tied to just one. We are also limiting the amount of subsidies, as required and requested by the European Commission, all in order to enable as many destinations as possible for citizens and to develop air traffic. Airlines that operate with larger aircraft, to main airports and offer more weekly flights will have an advantage. The contract will oblige airlines to continue to maintain flights on the route even after the subsidy contract ends”.



Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Despite their attempts to get someone else, I'm pretty sure Wizz will be the only one to apply four the fourth time and win it for the fourth time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:02

      for*

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:03

      Seems like the tender is suited for them anyway.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:07

      The terms are much better than in previous years. For example in the last tender they requested the airline to instantly open a base in SKP which was more or less unacceptable for most airlines. Also only LCCs were included. This time around the terms are much better and there is a much better chance of attracting some airlines other than Wizz.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:28

      count in LH too. They are stil eligible for subsidies

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:03

    Will we see Ryanair applying?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      Hope so. But I think Wizz will win this.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:08

      Ryanair could launch from Skopje flights to Dublin, Bucharest, London Stansted, Thessaloniki and Trieste and from Ohrid perhaps Burgas (seasonal), Weeze, Naples, Pisa, Bari and maybe another German destination.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:10

      Those destinations would be great!

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:11

      Don't understand cheering for Ryanair. All these Ultra low cost carriers are the same,
      Ne e vrat nego e shija

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:14

      SKP-SKG is as funny as INI-BGD

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:16

      INI-BEG is doing well actually because it has quite a bit of transfer traffic.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:39

      SKP-SKG is less than 3h by car. I seriously doubt the aviation knowlegde and logic of some commentators.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous10:49

      And even if you go with plane than you still need to travel 50 minutes with car if you go to Thessanoliki.

      Delete
    9. Anonymous03:49

      Skp to PRG

      Delete
    10. Anonymous06:35

      ohrid to istanbul with turkish is a nessesity ,,,,,,,so many people from north macedonia live in usa in turkey too,,,,in turkey you have more than one milion albanian which have relations with albanians from north macedonian more clearly those familys got displaced from 1905 to 1960 to turkey from north macedonia,,,,oppening this flight will allow more turkish from turkey and albanian from turkey and from usa to fly ohrid connecting with turkish airlines from jfk to istanbul flights,,,plus theyre are macedonian people from north macedonia in usa too and turkey but not as much as albanian people from north macedonia,,,theyre 70k albanian in usa from north macedonia and at least 10 to 15k macedonian from north macedonia,,,,we need ohrid-istanbul flight open 2 time a week in winter time and 3 to 4 times a week in summer time

      Delete
  3. Anonymous09:04

    It's great that they are including Ohrid too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      Agree. I like that OHD will be getting some new year round traffic from these subsidies.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:10

      I'm actually happy that both are included. Not just one or the other.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    Good news. But I hope we finally see another airline using these subsidies. Wizz Air needs some competition.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous09:08

    It seems they specifically wanted to exclude the possibility of Wizz Air applying with routes it has already suspended or discontinued from SKP. Which is something they were planning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      But Wizz can still apply with say BCN which it has not operated for the past two seasons but flew a few years ago.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:21

      not true BCN was stopped this year I think so there were flight in the last 2 years.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:03

      I believe BCN ended when corona started no?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:10

      there was a trip report here from Dec. 2021. even the loads were not bad

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:11

    They are still preventing direct competition if an airline can't launch a route that is already operating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:13

      They are not preventing it at all. You can launch a route already operated as soon as today but you can't get money for it. Which makes sense. It would be bizarre to be financing someone launching a route which is already operated by another airline from your airport.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:19

      @9.11 lol nobody is preventing direct competition (look at ZRH, BSL)

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:11

    I doubt any airline will apply...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:13

    10 million passengers automatically tell you it will be another LCC. A shame, they could have attracted some regional carriers with different requirements.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous09:15

    It will be Wizz Air again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:15

      Ok, if it is them, which routes could they launch?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:17

      My guess PRG, MAD or BCN, LIS...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:41

      Ljubljana, Abu Dhabi and some gasto we have never thought of ;)

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:18

      I don't think Abu Dhabi can be included because it asks for an airline from the EU to operate it. Abu Dhabi flights are operated by Wizz Air Abu Dhabi which is registered in the UAE.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous10:25

      oh youre right

      Delete
    6. Anonymous12:43

      AUH to SOF, BUD and (I think) VIE are operated by Wizzair, Not Wizzair Abu Dhabi (callsign is WZZ (EU) not WAZ (Wizz AD).

      Delete
    7. Anonymous17:37

      yes but those are EU airports. could be any of the Wizz ones

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:15

    I would like to see Transavia start flights to Macedonia.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous09:17

    my wishlist:

    Lufthansa: Frankfurt (announced)
    Wizzair: Ljubljana, Prague, Abu Dhabi
    Easyjet/Transavia: Amsterdam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:45

      Don’t think Amsterdam going to happen. They already have flights to Eindhoven.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:48

      Amsterdam is one of the busiest transfer routes from SKP.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:57

      I can imagine those transfers from AMS are for mostly for North America and there it's folks who fly with Delta.
      So yes, Skyteam should try to also capture some pax from SKP too

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:59

      no, I meant SKP-AMS via VIE,IST,BEG,ZAG...

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:59

      but yes regarding Skyteam

      Delete
  12. Anonymous09:17

    What I do like is that they are encouraging airlines to launch flights to main airports. Something we really need considering we have very few flights to main hub airports.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous09:25

    This means one thing: OU is out of the game for SKP-LJU (10 mil pax and profit) or any other destination

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You think they give a s.it about it?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:31

      :D I guess youre right. they could have done something there before Wizz-era ...

      Delete
  14. Anonymous09:27

    This might be an opportunity for Eurowings again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:30

      uhm I dont know. maybe only DUS

      they have new bases in ARN and PRG though, both airports are stil missing especially the first one. SWE-MK market is not bad

      Delete
  15. Anonymous09:32

    Great. I'm happy that the tender will last just for a month and that we will see the benefits of it very soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:51

      Yes, the winning bid or bidders will launch the flights in summer 2023.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:03

      Good!

      Delete
  16. Anonymous09:35

    Can't wait to see which routes will be launched.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous09:36

    How many new routes could we realistically see?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:50

      That is anyone's guess. Depends how much the winning airline/s propose.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous09:41

    It seems like Flydubai will be back in SKP they have sheduled flights for October 2023.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:51

      Really?
      If it proves to be true would be great price wise- TK prices for long haul need some discounting. And LH entering the Macedonian market does not help either, as they are also not known for offering low(er) fares
      Would've preffered QR tbh

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:01

      its maybe a glitch in their system (I mean dont get me wrong I wuld be more then happy)

      Delete
    3. Anonymous13:22

      And they cost above 900eur for a return flight to Dubai? What happened to prices lately?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:29

      just take Pegasus

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:48

      They better bring back DXB - SKP witb FZ! Stupid that all othe balkan cities have that connection reactivated or continued but FZ ceased at time of Covid. Bring back FZ. Australian Macedonia dispora need the additional choicr and not just via TY!

      Delete
  19. Anonymous09:42

    I hope for SKP-MAD and SKP-LIS.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:50

      +1

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:57

      if then only one. With the Malaga success at ZAG and BEG I believe this place is now more likely then the two mentioned capitals especially since BCN is not eligible for subs

      Delete
  20. Anonymous09:43

    solid conditions but why release it during the biggest shut down (xmas)? Hope they will get noticed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:50

      Because of poor planning. They prepared the tender back in October and were waiting for the government to approve it.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:55

      we are aviation fans but its not the highest priority in the country atm lets be honest

      Delete
  21. Anonymous10:12

    Ryanair thoughts:
    - Weeze (gasto heaven)
    - Verona (its right in the middle of the MXP-VCE-BLQ triangle)
    - Stockholm ARN (much favourable then Skavsta)
    - Helsinki (now that Turku is gone)
    - Amsterdam (if they can get slots, shoud be easy to compete against EIN)
    - Malaga (see ZAG)
    - Prague

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:02

      Agree, these seem realistic.

      Delete
  22. Anonymous10:25

    It seems that more and more ex-Yu airports are seeking P2P LCC routes. ZAG and BNX are good examples. Seems that SKP might be the next airport.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:26

      SKP has almost exclusively had P2P LCC routes.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous10:26

      lol dude SKP started it! welcome to the blog

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:05

      skp was the one of the first airports in ex-Yu to have p2p routes 2011

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2011/02/wizz-air-to-skopje.html

      Delete
  23. Anonymous10:35

    Here is my wishlist

    - Paris (CDG/ORY) : AF, U2, TO, VY
    - Amsterdam AMS : KL, TO, FR
    - Prague PRG : EW, FR, W6
    - Paphos PFO : FR

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous10:50

    Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anonymous10:50

    I hope we won't see only gasto routes.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Anonymous11:02

    Is the idea of establishing a new national airline in Macedonia completely dead?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:11

      MAT Kon Tiki Sky if you remember was ceased in 2011. Maybe time to create a new carrier with CR7s.

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2011/07/end-of-mat.html

      Delete
  27. Anonymous11:10

    They issue a public call for flights for a period starting in 9 days. While most serious airlines are either doing or already made their flight plans for the winter season 2023/2024... Incompetence at its best

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:12

      And when almost all departments at airlines are already on Christmas holidays...

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:17

      you can start the flights at any date

      Delete
    3. Anonymous16:31

      The Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Blagoj Bočvarski, noted, “The new model aims to include as many airlines as possible and not be tied to just one

      Not true. He ruled out OU, JU and others below 10M pax and 25M profit. Any normal country where rule of law is respected would investigate this for corruption, same with three previous tenders.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous17:29

      @16.31 Croatia and Serbia as normal countries where rule of law is respected? ahaha!!! just look at serbian PSO procedure for Nis. beside that JU has only rights to fly between MK and SRB

      Delete
    5. Anonymous19:33

      That's like saying: if murders occur in Cro and Srb, it is completely fine if they also occur in North Macedonia. Flawed logic.

      In this particular case, focus is on high ranking government official saying new subsidy model "aims to include as many airlines as possible". That is simply not true. Rules about passengers and profit are obviously intended to EXCLUDE many airlines.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous20:15

      but do you really expect a tiny country to sponsor loss making foreign airlines? as many as possible under certain curcumstances

      Delete
    7. Anonymous20:16

      somebody is p***ed off because his national airline is not being considered??

      Delete
    8. Anonymous20:21

      somebody wants to steer away conversation about possible government corruption?

      Delete
    9. Anonymous20:22

      wasn't wizz "foreign loss making airline" when they started skp?

      Delete
    10. Diazepam20:25

      Calm down dude your national airline can only fly SKP-BEG. Why do you even bother?

      Delete
    11. Anonymous20:28

      government corruption because they dont want to subsidy loss making airlines ???? HAHAHHAHAHAHAH I give you an Oscar for this!

      Delete
    12. Anonymous20:33

      examples of corruption:

      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2021/11/serbia-launches-tender-for-ten-new.html
      https://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/05/serbia-to-unveil-nis-subsidy-bidders.html

      Delete
    13. Anonymous21:18

      Wizz is a foreign loss making airline in FY21 and FY22. Are there sane people in SKP?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous00:24

      The anon 20:33 comment is amazing and 100% true. Well said.

      Delete
    15. Anonymous01:22

      No rebuttal, just attempts at deflection. Makes you wonder if everyone from airport operator, government, airline, passengers and airline aficionados from N. Macedonia are all supportive of apparent 'greasing the hand' scheme.

      Delete
    16. Anonymous10:34

      anon @1.22 please read the requiremnets in the links provided by anon@20.33 before you point the fingers towards others. Thank you

      Delete
    17. Anonymous13:07

      I don't live in Serbia. Article is about Macedonia subsidies.

      Delete
    18. Anonymous22:17

      Stockholm syndrome. SKP passengers are protecting airline holding them hostage.

      Delete
    19. Anonymous10:24

      holding them hostage? By basing 5 aircrafts at thire airport? laughing loud dude!!

      Delete
  28. Anonymous17:36

    excluding non EU airlines we are missing out on:

    - Tel Aviv (Arkia, Israir)
    - Ankara (Pegasus)
    - Abu Dhabi (Wizzair UAE)
    - Podgorica (Air Montenegro or what its called now)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous17:43

    less then 10m pax means:

    No Volotea, smartwings, Air Baltic, Tarom, Bulgaria Air, Luxair

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous19:26

      Subsidies tailored for one or two airlines as always.

      Delete
  30. Anonymous18:51

    Easy jet could benefit here if they put the proposal.

    AMS is no brained for them. I don't see why they would not do that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous20:18

      because its easyjet ...10 years we waited for GVA and they missed out on the cash cow Basel

      Delete
  31. Anonymous02:01

    SKP-ARN and SKP-AMS would be high demand

    ARN because NYO-SKP is pretty much always full (passengers from Kosovo) and Skavsta airport is terribly small and simply too far away from Stockholm.

    AMS because of the latest migration trends among the Macedonian IT professionals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:01

      Troll comment, keeping up with the narrative that Skopje is "only used by Kosovo passengers and by diaspora". As if there was no inbound and outbound tourism + business travel.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous17:51

      You totally misunderstood my previous comment and Skopje is definitely not used only by passengers from Kosovo and the diaspora.

      However, I'm regularly flying the SKP-NYO-SKP route and if ever had a chance to get on that flight, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

      Pozdrav

      Delete
  32. Anonymous12:23

    Does anyone know when will the results/flight connections be published to the general public?

    ReplyDelete

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