The capital city airports in the former Yugoslavia saw mixed results on flights to and from London during the first quarter when compared to last year. British Airways fuelled an increase in passenger numbers in Belgrade and Ljubljana, while Wizz Air was responsible for the decline in Skopje. Based on data provided by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, Zagreb continued to have the most traffic out of the EX-YU capitals to and from London, with 53.572 passengers handled. Figures declined 1.4% on 2023, despite both Ryanair having 9% more capacity and Croatia Airlines 5% more. However, they were unable to make up for British Airways, which decreased its number of Zagreb flights by 3% and capacity by 23%. Overall, Ryanair registered more passengers on its London - Zagreb service than both Croatia Airlines and British Airways combined.

Belgrade Airport recorded a 31.8% passenger increase on its London operations due to British Airways’ entry onto the market. Overall, an additional 12.428 travellers were handled compared to last year. Besides British Airways, both Air Serbia and Wizz Air increased capacity on their respective flights to London by 10% and 7%. Ljubljana Airport also benefited from British Airways, which upgraded its seasonal operations between the two capitals to year-round. Figures increased 32.9% with an additional 7.451 passengers handled on Q1 2023. British Airways and easyJet were able to make up for Wizz Air, which discontinued its Luton - Ljubljana service in February. Overall, capacity on the London route grew 27% due to British Airways.

In Pristina, 27.611 travellers flew with Wizz Air to and from Luton, up 3.9%. Wizz Air, as the only carrier on the London route, increased both its number of flights and capacity by 6.2% and 9.6% respectively. On the other hand, Skopje Airport saw figures decline by 6.6%. Here, Wizz Air operated 5% fewer flights and decreased its capacity by 2.2%. Podgorica’s passenger decline on the London route was the result of Ryanair’s decision to reduce operations between the two cities over the winter, as the number of flights was reduced by 24%, while capacity was impacted by a 12.4% decline. Finally, Sarajevo saw a 4.3% passenger increase, although this only translated into 437 additional passengers on the route on an 8.3% increase in both flights and capacity by Wizz Air. Figures are expected to rise significantly in the second quarter following Ryanair’s flight launch between London Stansted and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital.