Commercial airports in the former Yugoslavia processed a combined total of over 13.17 million passengers during the first half of the year, with Belgrade positioning itself within the top eighty busiest in Europe. A total of eleven airports registered their best passenger performance on record during the six-month period. They include Belgrade, Zagreb, Pristina, Skopje, Podgorica, Zadar, Tuzla, Banja Luka, Niš, Ohrid and Kraljevo. On the other hand, three saw their figures lag on last year, which was still impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. They include Sarajevo, Rijeka and Maribor. Furthermore, a handful of airports are still behind their pre-pandemic figures, among which are Dubrovnik, Ljubljana, Tivat, Pula, Osijek, Mostar, Brač and Mali Lošinj.
Passenger performance by airport, H1 2023
During the January - June period, Belgrade Airport ranked 74th busiest on the continent, just behind Keflavik (Reykjavik), Larnaca and Glasgow, but ahead of Eindhoven, Riga and Thessaloniki. Zagreb positioned itself as the 102nd busiest. It was behind the likes of Stavanger in Norway, Dalaman and Leeds, but ahead of Nuremberg, East Midlands and London City. Pristina was 109th on the list, behind Santiago de Compostela, Tbilisi and Paphos but ahead of Verona, Menorca and Cluj. The Kosovo market saw the third-fastest growth rate in Europe during the first half of the year when compared to the pre-pandemic 2019.
Passenger performance by airport, June 2023
During the first half of the year, the Slovenian market saw the biggest decline in passenger figures in percentage terms in Europe (excluding Ukraine) when compared to the pre-pandemic era with numbers down 37.7%. On the other hand, Albania recorded the fastest growth, amounting to 105.1%, according to Airports Council International Europe, and was ahead of Armenia with a 52.6% increase. The Kosovo market registered 44% growth, Serbian 25.8%, Macedonian 15%, Croatian 2.6%, while the Montenegrin market saw its figures decline 0.3% on the same period in 2019. Notably, most Western European markets are yet to recover their pre-pandemic figures with the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary all well below pre-Covid levels. Overall, London Heathrow Airport was the busiest in Europe between January and June, handling 37 million passengers, ahead of Istanbul’s main gateway, which was second with 35.6 million travellers. They were followed by Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, Madrid, Frankfurt, Barcelona, London Gatwick, Rome Fiumicino and Istanbul Sabiha Gocken.
Going to be a race between Sarajevo and Ljubljana.
ReplyDeleteSarajevo really is in a sad, sad state
ReplyDeleteI am still laughing at the fact that the management made a deal with a non European airline to base a plane in Sarajevo and fly to EU destinations. And they thought it would actually work.
DeleteWhy are you surprised? Airport is a government owned business in Bosnia and we all know who works in those kind of companies and how you get a job there.
DeleteAnonymous 09:44 - That is true.
DeleteResult is generally poor for all airports combined.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I think it is quite good that so many airports have surpassed their record results already. If you read the article, you will see that most European markets are still below pre-Covid figures.
DeleteEspecially given the state BEG is in. The airport is falling apart at the seams with this few pax. Pathetic.
DeleteYou are right, they are definitly not planning well, BEG needs a new terminal since the current one they have is clearly not enough to handle these booming numbers.
Delete2 airports from Istanbul and London are in top 10. Wow.
ReplyDeleteCrazy
DeleteBEG is distancing itself from the rest of the ex-YU gang.
ReplyDeleteQ1 29.7%
H1 24.9%
This result is quite impressive when you take into consideration that by the end of H1 coastal airports start waking up and are recording improved passenger numbers. A quarter of all ex-YU airports passed through BEG.
Second is ZAG
Q1 15.7%
H1 12.8%
What's the difference between Q1 and H1?
DeleteQ1 - First quarter of the year: January, February and March.
DeleteH1 - First half of the year, the first six months.
Q1 - first quarter - January - March
DeleteH1 - first half of the year - January - June
How many passengers could BEG have by the end of the year?
DeleteDepends how their August and September are but my guess is between 7.5 and 8 million. It should help them that Tuzla is collapsing and TSR is losing some flights this winter.
DeleteAnyone know how TIA performed in June?
ReplyDeleteSAJ is really catching up LJU but I think that July and August should be LJU months…
ReplyDeleteSAJ has its good run with LCCs but all that will evaporate now that their offer has disappeared overnight.
DeleteLJU on the other hand is building a strong presence of carriers. Look at Finnair, they delayed the resumption of ZAG then the last month they cut it to 1 weekly and now they even cancelled the last flight to ZAG.
On the other hand they had a strong presence in LJU and will operate 4 weekly until the very end. Makes me think if ZAG management even bothered to attract them or they just informed them about higher fares and that was it.
The thing is Sarajevo was ahead of Ljubljana but now it has fallen back. Impact of Wizz Air's retreat.
DeleteProblem is that SJJ can't profit from Tuzla's collapse since it has no adequate LCC carrier to collect the overflow. It will most likely move to BNX and OSI (OU codeshare to ZAG).
DeleteAnd BEG
DeleteHowever, how many passengers do you think Sarajevo will serve in 2023?
ReplyDeleteWill we reach 1.3 million in LJU this year?
ReplyDeleteIf not 1.3 million it will be very close.
DeleteGood 👍
DeleteVery good results for most. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell, how is Montenegro behind 2019?
ReplyDeleteIt has been stated many times. Tivat is struggling with loss of Russian, Belorussian and Ukranian markets.
DeleteI remember reading here that Moscow-Tivat route alone had over 600,000 passenger per year. There is your answer.
DeleteIf I am not wrong even before the war there was a period with no direct flight between Montenegro and Russia. Correct me
DeleteYes, during Covid.
DeleteIt's sad that Sarajevo and Tuzla lost Wizz!
ReplyDeleteMore bad news for Sarajevo as Wizz downgrades AUH-SJJ from A321 to A320 this winter season.
DeleteInteresting that Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will get an A320.
DeleteApparently FZ is more successful. But then again, Dubai is a big city and there may be more demand from there.
Only good is that Wizz will continue to fly to six destinations from SJJ And TZL.
DeleteSwitching to A320 only goes to show that AUH is an inflated market and most passengers who fly on this route are going to Dubai. Also imagine the horror of being stuck on a Wizz plane for over 5 hours.
DeleteIt's not horror. You'll see the difference between Wizz and JU plane only if you are 190-195cm tall. Otherwise, it's the same at many many airlines today.
DeleteI am 186 and I felt horrible flying Wizz while JU was ok for me.
DeleteWhat are those numbers?
DeleteBank credit score ratings.
DeleteHe's American
Delete950.00
ReplyDelete?
DeleteStill wondering how you will handle TIA when Ryanair comes! What is happening there is impressive! Will they surpass BEG, SOF, SKG?
ReplyDeleteHow who will handle TIA exactly?
DeleteHow will they cope*
DeleteI mean the airport is cramped for so many flights!
It's crazy 10-11 Wizz, 3X Ryanair+ Air Albania and Albawings. And also night flights by OS, PC, AZ....
We have already seen that film in Sofia, Vienna etc. They will fight for a season or two but in the end they will go back to their normal operations. It's a war and the circumstances are not based on realistic market demands.
Delete@09:26
DeleteHow who will cope exactly?
He said. "I mean the airport is cramped for so many flights!"
DeleteI meant there is no places for planes.
DeleteAt night it will be difficult to catch all these flights. I also forgot the JU flights. So at night there will be 100% occupancy (and now it is).
In addition to charter planes, OS, JU, AZ, PC planes also land there at night. They will probably be building airplane parking lots this summer.
I think they have an additional general aviation or aircraft maintenance ramps so they will probably move them there. PC, JU, OS... all leave in the middle of the night so before FR and W6 planes take off.
DeleteYou do realise FR is not basing a single plane in TIA, right? It has 0 effect in terms of parking space.
DeleteTIA will remain far behind BEG and SOF.
DeleteTIA will have its 15 minutes of glory after which it will be back to where it was.
DeleteThanks for your expert evaluation, was getting a bit worried there
DeleteWHAT ARE THE CHANCES OF AIR SERBIA INTRODUCING THE BELGRADE-YEREVAN LINE ?
DeleteChillax
DeleteAnon 17.00
DeleteNo need to be worried, we already gave you plenty of examples of where it happens. Plus FR doen't plan on opening a base there which shows that this is just a ploy to hurt Wizz.
Who said they don't?
DeleteWhy does Armenia report such growth?
ReplyDeleteRussians are moving to Armenia in large numbers. I did read that many are starting to leave it and vast majority of them are actually coming to Serbia.
DeleteBecause of Russia. Many are travelling via Yerevan. Not to mention how many Russians have moved to Armenia.
DeleteI read that there are also many Russian tourists. They replace Europe with Armenia.
DeleteAn example of this is the numerous flights from Armenia to Cyprus. Many Russians use the flights of Wizz Air or Cyprus Airways, Fly One. Also many Armenians visit Cyprus.
DeleteBut I have also seen Azur Air doing charters to Yerevan. Yerevan is definitely developing very well.
Lots of Russians in military age, basicalley all men between the ages of 18-50 have moved to Armenia and Georgia to avoid being drafted for the war.
DeleteTheir families followed them.
Of course we are talking about Russians who can afford this move.
So they are now traveling and Yerevan airport has seen its traffic explode as a result.
Yeah true I am curious it this will lead a couple years big Russian cashflows or a sustainable growth of the economy.
DeleteI spoke to a Russian guy here in Serbia who moved first to Armenia. He said most Russians try to leave Armenia and that the country is a mess. His words not mine.
DeleteWhy?
DeleteWell many Russians who moved here have stable jobs mostly in the IT industry. Yandex has close to 20.000 m2 of office space in Belgrade and that's excluding SkyLine.
DeleteAnother Russian IT company leased entire Revolucija office buidling that is being finished now (8 floors).
All of these people need to go on holidays and travel for work, this will no doubt stimulate demand for air travel.
Yerevan airport this year will easily surpass 6 million pax. I believe the record was 3.5.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteVery nice and interesting 👍
Post war recovery?
DeleteWhat's going on at Dubrovnik? It is far away from recovered.
ReplyDeletePelješki most. It really killed domestic demand and brought motorized tourists from Central Europe in place off package holidaymakers who arrive by plane.
DeleteInteresting, didn't think about that. Thanls
Delete*thanks
DeleteNot just that, prices are through the roof and many Europeans are experienced reduced income due to inflation.
DeleteI don't think that Peljeski most have that high impact. Probably the proces and a bad reviews from travel bloggers last years because of those prices.
DeleteBut removing a shenanigans can be as well. Many Travers from EU are using their cars right now.
DeleteVery interested to see Zagreb's number for July and if the slowdown in growth continues.
ReplyDeleteSame. Any idea what it may be like?
DeleteZagreb will be close to 400k, Between 380 and 400k.
DeleteAll the best to all the hard working airports across ex yu.
ReplyDelete5 airports with over a million passengers in H1. Used to be 6 with Dubrovnik.
ReplyDeleteShows that the region is not moving in the right direction.
DeleteMany are still recovering from Covid.
DeleteWhy not in the right direction? The figures are better than in EU, Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia are markets with good growth rates, the others are at 2019 level or above, LJU has issues and Bosnia will struggle.
DeleteAre they?
DeleteVery nice!
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to SOF in June? 85th in June compared to 69th rank overall ir rather drastic compared to BEG, SKG TIA
ReplyDelete2023 (01.01-30.06) 3,439,763 Increase30.4%
DeleteIt's the effect of the inflated demand caused by the W6-FR war, their numbers were unrealisic and add to that the traditionally slower demand in summer you get that result.
DeleteYes but the increase was mostly in the first part of the year, it slowed down later on as we moved closer to summer.
DeleteDo not forget that Bulgaria still has more airports(one with year-round (more) flights - Varna) and it is normal for Belgrade to surpass Sofia.
DeleteAlso, it should be noted that Sofia has had flights for 10 years to the destinations that run JU now. So right now we in Belgrade are even now seeing progress and that's thanks to Air Serbia. That's why they should have a national carrier
Have you actually looked at the map of Bulgaria? Look where Sofia is and where Varna and Burgas are. We should ask ourselves why Plovdiv isn't doing better since it's serving more or less the same market as Sofia.
DeleteBEG is more competition to SOF than VAR is.
Anyway, the important thing is that Air Serbia made Belgrade strong. This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for them.
DeleteI always find it interesting when people say BEG is the only airport in Serbia. Nis has very decent traffic and more often than not more than some airports from the countries people are writing these comments from.
DeleteBecause that is how it is. Where do you think we from Negotin are flying from? I personally travel often BEG -OSL why INI does not have such flights. And I'm not the only one doing it, that's a fact.
DeleteThe almost half a million passengers that will use Nis Airport this year show that it is not a fact.
DeleteNot just JU, other airlines and especially W6 have had a solid growth in BEG.
DeleteThe thing with Niš and, say, Oslo is not that there's no direct flights (although Oslo could be good candidate for INI) but the fact that travelling to Oslo even with transfer from Niš is not easy nor it is an everyday option.
DeleteAnd the reason for that is that there is no significant demand.
DeleteSOF has fallen into the hands of the incompetent Munich Airport administration led by this incompetent Spanish guy Jesus Caballero who does nothing but talk and talk. The story reminds a lot of LJU. Varna and especially Burgas are handled by Fraport but despite of the nearby conflict and loss of Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian tourists is still finding ways to recover. Plovdiv airport is very badly managed and it is a pity because it is a really beautiful city with lots of youth and life. It is more active in winter because of Pamporovo ski. BEG and TIA have been working much harder during the last 1-2 years and logic they surpass SOF. The growth of BEG is obviously more than impressive.
DeleteThere is only so much O&D Sofia can generate, if they are going to develop in the future then they will have to find someone to start bringing them transfers. Wizz Air and Ryanair have been fighting for almost a decade and there is a certain slowdown which is normal. I think they will reach around 8 million and plateau there.
Delete@Anonymous15:32
DeleteI guess your wishes aren't what really is happening @Sofia. Sofia is a major city with over 1.6 million people, why would you think Sofia will plateau at 8 million but Belgrade will be fine at 15 million? Where is your logic? Is it you talking utter nonsense and hate the fact Sofia is doing better than Belgrade ? Sofia is further away from most EU capitols, and is for much of the year the only airport that is connected to all major European capitols and commercial centres. Sofia has great chance of remaining in the lead for some time.
As an EU capital of 15 years, it is tragic that you are around the same level as BEG.
DeleteConsidering Sofia had no traffic before EU. It is a massive progress. As to 15 years, that is how long it'll take Serbia to join the EU, if we let you in to start with.
DeleteIt is even more tragic it had no traffic before EU. Meanwhile during that period Serbia was bombed and under international sanctions for 10 years and even without EU it will overtake Sofia next year.
Delete@Anonymous12:44 U live in warped universe, where truths are warped to suit your narrative, it must be really easy to ignore facts and realities in your universe. Serbia was under sanctions and bombed in 1999, over 23 years ago. Bulgarian economy suffered as as it was cut from shortest links to its western European markets in that time, yes Serbia suffered greatly, no one denies that to be the case, but it was 24 years ago, not 15!!! As to overtaking Sofia, we shall see. So far, Sofia is doing rather well considering.
DeleteI wonder if we will all be able to see an airline with a base in Sarajevo or Tuzla again. I don't want to see less than 1 million passengers per year….
ReplyDeleteNo because the market is simply not there.
DeleteWhy.
DeleteWizz have and now base with 15 destinations
I thought Trieste was a much busier airport. I'm surprised they are so low in the rankings.
ReplyDeleteNot a lot of airlines fly there.
DeleteEnough to take passengers away from Ljubljana.
DeleteConsidering wizz is leaving Tuzla, BNX might reach SJJ by the next year and be second busiest airport in BiH which is impressive for that tiny airport.
ReplyDeleteWell, only if they don't mess it up in the meantime
You must be joking. There is literally no way that BNX overtakes Sarajevo.
DeleteLearn to read. I said it might come at second place not overtake SJJ
DeleteDoes anybody know why there is no data for POW and as far as I remember it is not the first time this year there is no data for them. @Admin
ReplyDeleteMy experience exactly. I've been flying VIE-ZRH for business since at least 2012. Ticket prices always varied between 250-350eur. This spring, I had to fly this route in private capacity and ticket prices were 500eur if you book way in advance or 800 euros if you book 10 days before your flight. Once I even paid 1000 euro for this route. Just crazy!
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:44 Take a train
ReplyDeletecompared to H1 22:
ReplyDeleteBEG: +1.144m
ZAG: +394k
SKP: +368k
TGD: +205k
PRN: +198k
SPU: +195k
DBV: +181k
LJU: +152k
and so on
Belgrade passenger growth is separating it from the rest of the pack. It added almost three times as the next best airport.
DeleteIts reserve currency debasement. All central banks are on auto pilot.
ReplyDeleteThey can charge whatever they want. Its wild west again.
BEG might profit from the opening of Sava Centar which will be used to promote congress tourism, that could attract many high yielding passengers.
ReplyDeleteAnon 13:50 even though prices are high, my time is more valuable than money:
ReplyDeleteVienna - Zurich takes at least 8 hrs by train in one direction, so, thanks, but no thanks