The Macedonian government’s public call to airlines for the launch of new routes to both Skopje and Ohrid airports in return for subsidies is expected to have a “major impact” on air traffic in the country during next year’s summer season and the 2025/26 winter, according to operator TAV Macedonia. The tender is open until Monday with the Macedonian government outlining the call will result in the launch of at least ten new routes. “The new subsidies have been very well received and we expect for it to have a major impact on the airports throughout the next summer and winter seasons. We believe that many carriers are interested and that it will hopefully result in the arrival of airlines that have not entered the market so far, as well as the launch of routes that are currently unserved”, the General Manager of TAV Macedonia, Nejat Kurt, said.
The Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Aleksandar Nikoloski, said the country’s airports will add 200.000 passengers next year as a result of the ongoing public call. “We expect the introduction of at least ten new routes and that part of those airlines applying will not be low cost carriers. Furthermore, we anticipate the introduction of flights to two hub airports, which will complement operations to Istanbul and Vienna that are primarily used as transfer points by Macedonian travellers, as well as Frankfurt to a lesser extent. We expect for flights between Skopje and Dubai to be launched, which will enable connections to Asia and Australia, as well as services between Ohrid and Istanbul, which will open up connections to the rest of Europe and the Middle East”.
Mr Nikoloski met with Wizz Air’s CEO Jozsef Varadi in Budapest during the week to discuss the ongoing public call in detail. Wizz Air is the largest airline in Macedonia, handling over half of the country’s passenger traffic. A key difference from previous tenders over the past decade, which were almost exclusively won by Wizz Air, is that this call now allows non-European carriers to participate. However, applicants must have handled at least five million passengers in 2023 and reported a net profit of at least ten million euros. Financial support will be awarded based on criteria such as the duration of operations, the frequency of weekly flights, the appeal of the destination airport, and the number of seats available for sale.
Exciting. What could the new routes be?
ReplyDeleteRegarding hubs, Dubai seems to be one. Other ones with potential are Munich, Amsterdam, Paris and Copenhagen
DeleteRead the article:
DeleteSKP-DXB and OHD-IST.
Oh, yeah, it's only 2 hubs, my bad
Deletei dont think TK is starting OHD, rather Pegasus or Ajet
DeleteThere is a rumor long time ago, that Turkish is thinking about regional jets. Now they have big developed airport, so there is no reason for them not to fly regional jets.
DeletePlease dont
DeleteTurkish airlines should start seasonal flights from may to end of october ohri to istanbull
DeleteTheyres 150k people from korcha struga debar kicevo ohrid live in usa
They use connection and final destination is tirana or skopje but lately people from
North Macedonia going to tirana to fly to new york
I live in usa.if they start flights from ohrid to istanbull
Il fly using ohrid and 100 members or more from my family
Ohrid-istanbull is a must with turkish airlines 2 a week
And airport taxes in ohrid and skopje need to be lowered by 10 percent
Tirana is taking all people from skopje or at least 200-300k or even more only this year
Albanian's did the same in Gruevski time
DeleteSo Flydubai is coming back
ReplyDeleteWell it won't be Emirates
DeleteWhy not?
DeleteThere is a chance
Wizzair will open Abu Dhabi from Skopje, flydubai or emirstes if want to open route to Macedonia will open without tender and 10 eur per passenger
DeleteCould SKP sustain more than 15 year round destinations without subsidies?
ReplyDeletenot sure that I understood your question
Delete5 - 8 by Wizz
ReplyDeletehopefully!!
DeleteSeasonal flights to JFK could work 3-4 weekly with subsidized landing and possible handling fees.
ReplyDeleteIt could work like the EK route from DXB to JFK via MXP.
Are you serious? Out of all the markets in Europe they could choose to fly to JFK, you think they would pick Skopje?
DeleteBEG can BARELY sustain 7 PW to JFK with JU's extensive transfer network and we think that SKP can sustain 4 PW? Not a chance...
DeleteAlso EK relies extensively on premium travellers to fill their premium cabins. Why would they launch a gasterbaiter route which are in famously low-yield.
DeleteNow, if there was some long haul LCC in JFK, with a lot of subsidies, it could MAYBE work twice per week. But even then
Again this guy, fantasizing that SKP is the Sun, while the rest of the world is circling around it
DeleteSKP can’t make it non-stop to/from JFK before Tirana TIA which Tirana has more tourists and diaspora.
DeleteGuys wake up, airlines are massively cutting in our region and you are dreaming about SKP-JFK.
DeleteW6 SOF-ALC cancelled
W6 SOF-GVA cancelled
W6 SOF-LIS cancelled
W6 SOF-CGN cancelled
W6 OTP-TIA cancelled
W6 OTP-GVA cancelled
W6 OTP-SKG cancelled
FR SOF-AQB cancelled
FR SOF-BER 5 to 4
FR SOF-FMM 5 to 3
Sofia and Bulgaria are literally left with no flights to Portugal.
All albanians from macedonia majority of which live in usa chosing tirana now
DeleteNext year tirana starting direct flights than boston chicago toronto shangai and beijing in next 2 years
Delta is interested and air albania is under turkish airlines
I'm anticipating some of the previous wizz routes to be restarted, at least 4 5, we will see
ReplyDeleteNejat said that "previous destinations" are among the applied routes
DeleteBCN has to be there, right?
DeleteMalmo Ohrid i hope!
ReplyDeletewould be very careful with lignja's interview outcomes ... the one to follow is TAV's director
ReplyDeleteone of the airlines has never entered MK market... which one could it be?
ReplyDeleteWell, I was hoping that Ryanair might come and break the monopoly of Wizz. But after the meeting with Varady, I highly doubt it will happen.
ReplyDeleteactually i think they want to secure another tender when they have their aircrafts back
DeleteThe minister for transport also had meetings with the Spanish and Czech ambassador and it was said that air connectivity between the countries was discussed.
ReplyDeleteHence, I am guessing that Barcelona/Madrid and Prague might be one of the new routes.
ministers dont decide about routes ....
DeleteThey don't but their visits might hint that they're encouraging said routes
Deletetheir only function is to make photos of their meetings, believe me. Its airlines that show interest or not
DeleteOhrid - Istanbul is coming by Ajet or Turkish Airlines
ReplyDeleteMaybe Skopje - Ohrid 🤣
ReplyDeletesuch a bad day?
DeleteSo the minister is saying that he is hoping more airlines applied. I am not sure if i believe in this. Almost no airline was interested in the previous tenders and now suddenly 10 airlines applied, half of which are not LCC, we will get a connection to a hub and DXB will return? I really hope this happen but i think this is going to be far from reality.
ReplyDeleteIt does not say 10 airlines applied but there will be ten routes. One airline can apply how many routes it wants.
DeleteSo then it is Wizz Air which will eather not even schedule them like they did with Stuttgart or they will cancel them after short period like Luxembourg, Turin and Billund. Or they will get money to fly again to CPH and NYO which they have been serving for years now maybe one decade and they worked perfectly until now.
DeleteCome on, read the tender req before you post.
DeleteI know the tender req dont worry.
Deletethen you would know that CPH and NYO are out of question for this tender
DeleteHmm, no airlines? You might be mixing sth up. The last tender had NorwegianAir, Aegean and Ryanair applying.
Delete@13.46 im not him but i really want some of your dope, najozbilno
DeleteRyanair never applied
Deleteonly Aegean did if im not wrong
Deleteyes.
Deletewhat about SKP-VIE for low cost connection?
ReplyDeleteWizz flies from Skopje to Bratislava and to Vienna from Ohrid.
DeleteSKP-VIE is n/a for any tender because its served, airlines can open it though if they want. You have Bratislava flights
DeleteMy bet for connectivity is either FCO or MUC. Other destinations which could be launched from SKP are Dubai, Barcelona, Bari, Prague from SKP
ReplyDeleteFrom OHD probably will be Basel, Istanbul, Malmo, London and Krakow.
FCO was served in summer > not possible
DeleteKrakow year round from Ohrid? not happening, too ambitious
Deleteits gonna be bit strange if they get money for Basel :)
DeleteI think ohrid - Basel, Malmo and Istanbul Will open
DeletePlease take back Hannover , Germany
ReplyDeleteOh yeah that would be a good idea!!
DeleteI prefer Qatar to Emirates-anything for Macedonia, because of the visa requirements for UAE for MK passports. Unless that is taken away as well which would be wonderful :)
ReplyDeleteMillions of subsidies for an est. 200k passengers to be added next year?
ReplyDeleteWhat "major impact" are these people talking about?
well even if you give them 5 eur per passangers thats stil 1mil ...
Deletemaybe they know more than me and you
200k tourist is estimated probably will be more people visiting the country. Thats what they less expect
DeleteAfter Mr. Nikolovski meet Mr.Varadi only Wizzair will open new routes from Macedonia.
ReplyDeleteSKP (Barlecona,Stuttgart,Abu Dhabi,Geneva,Nice)
OHD (Eindhoven,Basel,Venice,Malmo)
FlyDubai,Turkish Airlines,Qatar and others airline don’t care about 12eur per passenger. If they wana open new route to Macedonia wil do it without tender.
Only LCC will wait for tender.
only you doesnt read the article
DeleteI have no idea why Air Serbia would not Fly from Dubai to Skopje and then on to Belgrade and vice versa to capture the huge Macedonian diaspora in Australia just like JAT did in the 70:s
ReplyDeleteHopefully Ryanair are coming to Skopje...
ReplyDelete3 MILLION PASSENGERS A YEAR WITH A SUBSIDY OF 13 EUROS PER PASSENGER THAT IS 39 MILLION EUROS IN FOREIGN HANDS A GIFT FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF MACEDONIA. Macedonian aero - clubs have been without state support since 2017. Macedonian police and army receive 0 euro subsidy and air traffic control receives no money from the government. The government should give money to these Macedonian state companies.
ReplyDeleteit's the same for you if your son asks you for money and you don't give it to him and give it to some foreigner. Wrong policy at all.
People here are so shortsighted. First of all, not all routes or all passengers have a subsidy. Why do people have such a hard time understanding this.
ReplyDeleteFor the sake of this argument, I will assume that it's costing the MK government 39M Euros. This amount still pales in comparison to how much they would have lost with a state-backed airline (remember Palair, MAT, etc.)? These subsidies have proven to be some of the best decisions the MK government has made. They are bringing tourists to the country, and those tourists are spending money. My only problem is how some of the tenders have been conducted, which doesn't promote open and fair competition amongst interested airlines.