Jordan Aviation fails in bid to open Sarajevo base

Sarajevo Airport has revealed that it has signed an agreement with Jordan Aviation for the latter to station an aircraft in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital and launch several new European routes, however, that the deal has still not materialised due to bureaucratic issues surrounding permits and approvals. The airline was the only one to apply at a tender late last year to open a base in the city in return for incentives. In a press release, Sarajevo Airport said, “Jordan Aviation applied for the public call published by Sarajevo Airport last year to open a base, with plans to link Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital to European destinations, as well as increase frequencies on several existing routes. Unfortunately, this has still not materialised due to certain technical and administrative hurdles relating to approvals”.

Jordan Aviation maintains summer charters between Amman and Sarajevo and plans to continue operating the service into the winter. “Our strategic goal is to expand Sarajevo’s destination network. We are talks with a substantial number of airlines including Jordan Aviation with the aim of increasing traffic and introducing new destinations. This is being supplemented by the support given by the government of the Sarajevo Canton for the subsidy program aimed at the launch of new routes and we expect a positive outcome in ongoing talks with carriers”, Sarajevo Airport noted. Jordan Aviation is a charter carrier, currently operating a fleet of eight aircraft, including two Airbus A320s, two A330-200s, two Boeing 737-300s, one B767-200ER and one B777-300. This summer, the carrier is wet-leasing planes to various airlines, including Romania’s and Moldova’s FlyOne, as well as Saudi Arabia’s flyadeal

Sarajevo Airport issued a public call to airlines earlier this month for the introduction of new routes in return for subsidies. The funds will be distributed to an airline or carriers willing to base aircraft in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital, those launching flights to cities within Europe deemed to be of strategic importance, as well as those operating long-haul flights from Sarajevo, i.e., services of over six hours. However, the airport is primarily targeting the introduction of 26 European destinations, some of which are already served. Local authorities have allocated some 225.000 euros in subsidies, while the amount an airline can receive depends on the number of destinations launched, the type of destinations introduced, as well as the provided frequencies.