The airports in Belgrade, Sarajevo and Zagreb will be the fastest-growing in the former Yugoslavia during the ongoing second quarter (April, May and June). The trio will add the most scheduled capacity compared to the same period the previous year. Belgrade Airport will lead the way, with an additional 271.140 seats. The growth coms primarily as a result of Air Serbia and Wizz Air. The national carrier is in the process of launching five new routes during the second quarter adding an extra 91.487 seats during the three-month period compared to last year. Wizz Air has an additional 72.610 seats on the market as a result of two new routes and the change in based aircraft from the Airbus A320 to the A321neo.
Sarajevo Airport will boast an additional 192.163 seats. The strong growth comes primarily as a result of Ryanair, which has launched five new routes. Furthermore, most carriers serving Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital will increase frequencies and seats. Ryanair brings 87.026 additional seats to Sarajevo over the three-month period, while Pegasus Airlines will add an extra 26.716 seats when compared to the previous year.
Scheduled capacity difference at airports in the former Yugoslavia, Q2 2025 vs Q2 2024
Zagreb will continue to benefit from Ryanair’s operations in the second quarter of 2025. The budget carrier is increasing its capacity by 23.8% on Q2 2024, adding 116.716 seats onto the market after increasing frequencies on a number of routes and introducing a new service. It will be followed by Croatia Airlines, boasting an extra 51.417 seats compared to last year. The airline will introduce five new routes from Zagreb in July, however, these fall outside of the second quarter.
On the other hand, Zadar will see the biggest decline in capacity, shedding over 53.000 seats. As previously reported, the slump is caused almost exclusively by Ryanair, which has removed 49.394 seats at the airport during the second quarter, most of it in April. Contributing to the decline are Eurowings and Austrian Airlines, which will have fewer seats but at a much smaller rate of decline than Ryanair, shedding 8.400 and 4.130 seats respectively.
The table above is of an informative nature and is correct as of May 5. Airlines constantly revise capacity levels by deploying larger or smaller aircraft, changing frequencies or adding and suspending routes, which will result in some changes to the figures above as the second quarter of 2025 progresses.
Bravo Beograde!
ReplyDeleteGood to see BEG back to growth.
DeleteThe point is to fill those extra seats.
DeleteFor OU yes but not for JU and Wizz. LF is high.
DeletePeace of cake.
DeleteIt's good that so many airports are up on last year!
ReplyDeleteLjubljana finally back to growth as well does make me happy
DeleteShould be a good summer for Ljubljana
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/02/ljubljana-set-for-strong-growth-as.html
Split is a big surprise. Where is all that growth coming from?
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering that too
Delete@Admin could you give us a hint?
DeleteStrong capacity growth by many airlines serving Split, led by Croatia Airlines, KLM and Eurowings.
DeleteExcellent. Thank you
DeleteSplit I expect won't grow as fast as it did in the past years, mostly due to capacity constrains and limited room for growth, single airline and apron limit the potential high season capacity to maximum of 150 air operations per day, if they expand the runway and add a taxiway, things could improve dramatically. Also expanding apron/platform further west would add to this capacity issue. As is, airport is expected to handle between 3.85 and 4.0 million this year.
DeleteDubrovnik Airport however, will expand fast this year, 3.4-3.5 million passengers highly probable. Next year, it could match Split airport and in 2027 it is expected to surpass Split Airport traffic.
Zagreb is on the way to 4.8-5.0 million passengers this year. April was really great for the airport, and it'll be another broken record. Airport is expected to handle 400 000, but it is very likelly it'll be a lot more this April, 450 000 quite possible.
Zadars bubble has burst
ReplyDeleteI think it is only in Q2 because of April cuts.
DeleteHopefully it’s just a seasonal adjustment.
DeleteA clear indication that secondary airports like Zadar face a tough time when Ryanair reduces focus. Heavy reliance on one carrier is always risky.
Delete50.000 less seats oferred out of one million is peanuts, and does not mean any bubble burst or tough time with FR. it's very much possible these 5 percent less seats is just "fine tuning" which will increase LF and enable further growth in future. Let's wait and see, instead predicting catastrophy without any ground for it
DeleteYes, I think for ZAD overall it will be a good summer.
DeleteZAG should be number 1 n Q3 because of the new Croatia Airlines routes.
ReplyDeleteNope, Belgrade will be number 1 in Q3 as Air Serbia will have 5 more scheduled routes, as well as 2 more charter routes during whole Q3. Wizz Air will also have much more frequencies during Q3.
DeleteWe will see
DeleteJU have 7 new routes
DeleteWe sure will.
DeleteIt's crazy how much capacity Ryanair is adding in Zagreb with just one new route.
ReplyDeleteRemember that they added a couple of new routes last year which started mis summer. So they increase Q2 25 capacity too.
DeleteThey're boosting capacity on quite a few routes as well, no? Iirc Malta and Stansted are both growing
Delete^ Yes that's true
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteImagine how big Bravo Hrvatska could it be if Croatia Airlines were real airline with decent network and double bigger fleet using Zagreb as real hub for its coast and entire SE Europe, instead of irrelevant miserable feeder with 13 % of market share 😕
DeleteActually I'm positively surprised by the growth in Nis considering the decline in numbers they are having.
ReplyDeleteThey still had a decline in April. So we will see if the capacity increase translates into pax increase.
DeleteI'm guessing they will start growing again from June.
DeleteWell done Sarajevo.
ReplyDeletefinally the airport and city living up to its potential.
DeleteRyanair is clearly making a huge difference in putting the airport back on the map.
DeleteFully agreed, Sarajevo finally living up to the potential it has (and size), it should have happened way earlier, it was ridiculous that airports like Podgorica, Ljubljana and Skopje had (or still have) more passengers than. Luckily things are settling in its place slowly :)
DeleteMostly because of incompetence of prior management from several years ago, strange that the management that led to this growth were fired last year. Maybe they were doing too good of a job?
DeleteHey Admin, does PRN number include the charters?
ReplyDeleteNo, published number is just scheduled routes. Charters are not included.
DeleteGood to finally see some positive numbers for Rijeka
ReplyDeleteI wonder what Pozdrav from Rijeka has to say about that :D
DeleteSpeaking growth percentage comparing to last year, numbers are slightly slightly bigger. Speaking absplute numbers, they are much worse than before 2019. Rijeka numbers are very very low and absolutely not satisfactory. If you think Rijeka region should be satisfied having 15 TIMES less passengers than Split, or 10 TIMES less passengers than Zadar, or 5 TIMES less passengers then Pula, roughly speaking, or DOUBLE or TRIPLE less passengers than Niš, Banja Luka or Tuzla, you can put not one but much more smileys at the end of your post. Unfortunatelly for me, it makes me cry, not laugh. That's what I have to say about it. PIR
DeleteMuch more green than red so that is good.
ReplyDeleteBasically 2 out of top 3 airports seeing big growth due to Ryanair.
ReplyDeleteIt makes sense, it's the biggest airline in Europe. And the entire Ex-Yu is extremely price sensitive.
Delete@Admin, where is KVO capacity increase coming from? Air Serbia has same frequencies as last year.
ReplyDeleteThe operating days of the flights in Q2 2025 compared to Q2 2024 means there are several additional flights compared to the same three-month period last year.
DeleteMorava Airport is completely underutilized. Why not try to attract more turboprop operators and make it a viable option for central Serbia.
Delete0935, because that way BEG will lose traffic and that is not acceptable.
Delete^ You are so smart I don't know where to begin. The only reason Morava has any flights is because the government is subsidizing flights. Three routes in fact. Have you thought maybe that there is little demand for Morava Airport? Use your brain for once in your life before writing nonsense.
DeleteHe is a graduate of the zama aviation academy.
Delete😂
DeleteVery nice.
ReplyDeleteWas expecting bigger growth from Mostar considering the Sky Alps flights.
ReplyDeleteSame. But do remember they had flights on some routes last year too.
DeleteAll are low frequency and with small aircraft.
DeleteThat's true. This is only related to Eurowings.
DeleteThis is a great start in any case.
DeleteBelgrade leading the way isn’t a surprise given Air Serbia’s and Wizz Air's expansion
ReplyDeleteConsidering BEG had the biggest decrease in seats in Q4 24 and Q1 25, this is a pleasant change.
DeleteThe decline in those two quarters was because of Wizz.
DeleteAnd the increase now is thanks to Wizz too. Belgrade Airport relies way too much on Air Serbia and Wizz.
DeleteI agree. But they are big operators at BEG and it is difficult to compete against them.
DeleteRyanair would turn everything on its head at BEG.
DeleteBut they are not brave enough to come to BEG.
DeleteYes, I'm sure that FR out of all cities in Europe is scared of BEG, JU and W6...
DeleteThis is some next level Balkan delulu.
OK, you have other explanation? Just deny other comment without any argument is somewhat pathetic
DeleteCongratulations BEG, SJJ and ZAG.
ReplyDeleteI'm very happy to see Tivat back to growth.
ReplyDeleteIs it still below 2019?
DeleteYes it is
DeleteBased on capacity levels for Q2 2025, it is 12.1% above Q2 2019 levels.
DeleteBravo!
ReplyDeleteZagreb’s growth is impressive
ReplyDeleteThird in a row by "impressivness".
DeleteToo bad we are not talking Intergalactic Spaceship bright and shiny A220. Imagine amount of impressivness for that one 🤣🤣🤣
DeleteEncouraging to see all capitals expanding
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThank you for the numbers. Always interesting to see
ReplyDeleteWould be nice to get the monthly breakdown.
DeleteWe get those at the end of the month.
DeleteI guess most of this BEG growth is in May and June
ReplyDeleteApril too.
DeleteWe are chasing 9M now.
DeleteWell done SA, BG, ZG! Glad to see SA finally catching up with others, it should have been like this a long time ago, it is the three biggest and most influential cities in Ex-Yu anyway.
ReplyDeleteThat is not true, Skopje is bigger than Sarajevo, first thing, and also on highway in at least two directions, with better infrastructure, and was always bigger then Sarajevo in Yugoslavia (at least for decades).
DeleteAnd also, Ljubljana today is MUCH MORE influential than Sarajevo, and much more powerfull Sarajevo,
And, Sarajevo today is not in any aspect more important or even more influentian than Sarajevo.
Name we in what?
And i am from Serbia, not from MK.
Skopje, Sarajevo and Ljubljana metropolitan zones (not cities, zones!) are literally the same, like 80.000 people in difference...
DeleteDovla992DA, depends really how you look at it. Skopje was never bigger than Sarajevo, it is also a capital of a much smaller country than Bosnia. Sarajevo's urban core and city center is much bigger than the one of Skopje, both the old town/carsija, and city center. Skopje looks like Nis in that sense, Sarajevo has far more superior architecture, better public transport, is a much bigger and popular touristic center, olympic mountains and ski resorts nearby, not to mention Sarajevos significance with the 1st world war, Olympics, Sarajevo Film Festival. Ljubljana is an EU capital, that is the only advantage over Sarajevo that it has, it is a much smaller city than Sarajevo.
Delete23:42 Sarajevo have better infrastructure then Skopje and better public transport ? Dude in sarajevo there is still holes and shrapnell signs on almost every building , did you see how many new buildings are in Skopje now and how fast the city is developing ? Probably not , go visit Skopje see what boulevards haz ,buildings , how many shopping malls have , plus one super huge East gate mall , and compare what Sarajevo has from all that things. Dont just write non sense comments and compare Nis with Skopje. The only true you said is yes Bosnia had more population then Macedonia ,but Skopje is way modernizate then Sarajevo ;)
Delete01:59, of course it has better public transport, Sarajevo has a brand new tram network fully renovated last year, they are finishing an additional new tram line this year, bought 25 new Stadler trams, bought 20 new BKM trolleybusses, getting 10 more new Solaris trolleybusses end of this year, what does Skopje have, those red doubledecker buses from China? Brand new buildings in Skopje? I have been there twice, the Skopje 2014 project is an irreversible damage done to the city, those buildings look cheap and worse than in Disneyland or Las Vegas, its really not something to be proud of, I am sorry.
DeleteI havent still visited Skopje but i can say that Sarajevo is really beautiful and unique city! Rgds from serbia
DeleteTourists come to Skopje to laugh at what politicians turned city into. It's such kitsch, such pap, I've never seen anywhere, and I visited 100+ countries. I like MK and its people, my godmather is macedonian, but circus they turned Skopje into is unbelievable. Rgds from Croatia
Delete@23.42 need to chill down a bit, Its known which were/are the 3 largest cities in former and post Yugoslavia BEG, ZAG, SKP. mind you last census in BiH was 2013!
Delete@12:34: what is SKP actually renowed for? Its not touristically attractive, it is a capital of a smaller country, it did not have any significant venues in the last 20-30 years, it doesnt even have any regional media present (N1, Al Jazeera, Euronews), whereas Sarajevo does, so what is the regional significance of Skopje and its advantage over Sarajevo? The only advantage I can think of it the highway connectivity, which was built during Yugoslavia, and maybe the national stadium? BiH had last census in 2013 true, but Macedonia before the 2021 last one had in 2001, so...
DeleteAnon 11:43, fully agreed. What they did to Skopje is such a shame and disaster that cannot be fixed for years to come. I have never seen that kitsch and circus anywhere else, and it especially should not be happening in a European capital.
DeleteGood to see that Tuzla and Banja Luka are recovering and adding more passengers.
ReplyDeleteTrue.
DeleteAbout time
DeleteGreat news, but also a moment for SJJ management to question the master plan developed for the airport. SJJ had 1.820.000 pax in 2024 and the new terminal is designed for 2.000.000. With the current growth SJJ will have 2.200.000 pax by the end of 2025. And then what?! The airport, new terminal, was already struggling during summer of 2024, I cannot imagine what will happen this summer with more passengers.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteThat is true. The point is that SJJ doubled its number of passengers in 2–3 years. Now the question is: was it poor planning or strong growth to blame for this situation?
Deletei think it was poor planning. Remember that the project, which isn't that huge in infrastructure terms, took years to complete. Yes, there was covid but most airports managed to accelerate projects during the pandemic. But even when construction was going on people were warning that the airport would quickly again be operating at full capacity.
DeleteGood job SKP , plus there is Freebird charters which means those numbers above will ne even higher👏
ReplyDeleteHow many Freebird charters are there per week?
DeleteI think it is one daily flight
DeleteYes it is one daily flight until June , and after that starts again in Octomber with one addition Vienna
DeleteZagreb airport just raised their parking prices in the public car park from € 87 per week to € 102 per week! Probably thanks to the insane increase of passengers and a fully loaded parking facility.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.zagreb-airport.hr/en/passengers/parking-36/parking-calculator/684
@admin do we have any info of the occupancy rate of the facility?
DeleteThere are 5-6, maybe even more, smaller parking businesses around the airport. Most of them are really serious and professional, some of them offer covered parkings, video surveillance and on the spot rooms or apartments. Usual rates are 7-10 euros per day or 50-60 weekly, double less than airport parking. They are all located just next to the airport, 2-3 minutes drive and they all offer car or van shuttle before and after the flight included in the price. They complement perfectly main airport parking and are widely used by people from all over Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia
Delete