Lufthansa reclaims top spot as Slovenia’s busiest airline in 2024

Lufthansa has reclaimed its position as Ljubljana’s and Slovenia’s busiest carrier in 2024, overtaking Turkish Airlines after losing the title to its Turkish counterpart the previous year. Turkish Airlines maintained its lead until June, but Lufthansa saw a 28.7% increase in passenger numbers, driven by the introduction of a second daily service from Munich. The German carrier also recorded the highest passenger growth in the market, adding 47.828 travellers. Lufthansa’s average cabin load factor across its two Ljubljana routes for the year stood at 80%. Despite losing the top spot, Turkish Airlines continued to perform well, increasing its passenger numbers by nearly 10%.

Ljubljana passenger performance on scheduled flights by market, 2024

Swiss and Transavia saw notable growth, adding 22.211 and 17.291 passengers, respectively, on their routes. Swiss expanded its operations to Ljubljana by 20% year-over-year, increasing capacity by 21%. In contrast, Transavia’s growth primarily stemmed from the absence of flights in early 2023, as the airline suspended its Amsterdam - Ljubljana service from February until late March of that year. Passenger numbers on Ljubljana - London flights, operated by three different carriers, remained largely stable. Growth was initially driven by British Airways, which served the Slovenian capital during the first quarter for the first time. However, numbers declined in the fourth quarter when the airline opted not to renew its winter flights. Meanwhile, Wizz Air discontinued its London Luton route in February.

Among the airlines that recently launched flights to Ljubljana, Luxair reported an average cabin load factor of 73%. Wizz Air continues to perform strongly on its Skopje–Ljubljana route, which began in September 2023, achieving a high average load factor of 95.4%. Norwegian, which entered the Slovenian market in late April last year, carried 15.623 passengers on its Copenhagen flights, with an average load factor of 78.7%. Similarly, airBaltic, which also inaugurated services to Ljubljana in April, recorded an average cabin occupancy of 83.5%. Meanwhile, Aegean Airlines' seasonal Athens service saw an average load factor of 74.4%, while Iberia's limited operations between Madrid and Ljubljana achieved a strong 86.6% occupancy.