Ljubljana Airport is poised to gain additional new routes after airBaltic yesterday announced the launch of a weekly service from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands to the Slovenian capital, launching October 25. The news comes alongisde the government’s ongoing efforts to improve the country’s air connectivity through public tenders offering subsidies to European carriers in exchange for new flights. In the latest, eighth public call, two airlines submitted applications. Both have been asked to revise their proposals, with the deadline set for today. The tender commission is scheduled to review the bids this Thursday.
Wizz Air, which recently engaged in discussions with the Slovenian government over potential expansion plans, is widely speculated to be one of the applicants in the current subsidy tender. Industry sources suggest the airline has proposed launching flights between Ljubljana and Tirana, a route that would align with Wizz Air’s broader strategy of tapping into underserved markets with strong VFR (visiting friends and relatives) and growing leisure demand. However, this has not been verified by the airline.
Commenting on airBaltic’s upcoming new service to Las Palmas, located on Gran Canaria Island, the CEO of Ljubljana Airport operator Fraport Slovenija, Babett Stapel, said, “Gran Canaria is a popular holiday destination for many Slovenians. The route will be launched just before the October school holidays and will offer a convenient option for travel throughout the autumn and winter seasons". Mantas Vrubliauskas, airBaltic’s Vice President for Network Management, added, "We are thrilled to launch direct flights from Ljubljana to Gran Canaria - one of the few warm-weather holiday destinations that will be directly accessible from Slovenia in winter. This route fills a clear gap in the market and allows Slovenian passengers to travel to the Canary Islands easily and comfortably. At the same time, we remain committed to strengthening connectivity from Slovenia, continuing direct flights to Riga and enabling seamless travel to the Baltics, Northern Europe and other parts of Europe via our growing network".
Let's now all speculate about which routes those are
ReplyDeleteNo need. I told you yesterday ;)
Delete^ how can easyjet be part of the subsidies if it is not an ECAA airline?
DeleteNot all routes are part of subs … and yes easyjet is part of ecaa…
DeleteThe flights to UK as you suggested yesterday cannot be subsided.
DeleteOnly easyjet switzerland
DeleteWho suggested they are subsidies? I didn’t say that. Please read again my comments
DeleteIf not subsided then those LCC’s surely won’t come just like that.
DeleteThe photo on the article are probably an indication 😉
Deletehehhe finally someone noticed ;)
DeleteGood news but why is the only interest being generated through government subsidies?
ReplyDeleteStop with conspiracies. Nothing would happen without Fraport.
DeleteSure
DeleteAgree. Slovenia should not be relying on tenders and subsidies to attract basic air connectivity
DeleteAirports of our size in neighboring countries don’t seem to have this problem.
DeleteWhich airports of LJU size in neighbouring countries are relying on subsidies?
DeleteAir Baltic is already sold out on some days from LJU to LPA.
ReplyDeleteNice although makes sense with school holidays around the launch date.
DeleteWhich days? For me prices for all of the days are still on the lower side when I try booking it.
DeleteFake news
DeleteEven if "sold out" it can be only through the tour operators. So, seats might be sold out for Air Baltic, but it doesn't mean the plane is already full.
DeleteMy guess is they are putting around 40-50 tickets on free sale and the rest of the plane is blocked for tour operator(s)
DeleteGreat to see some momentum at Ljubljana Airport again! A winter sun destination like Gran Canaria is a fantastic addition, especially since LJU is dead in winter. Hopefully more routes will follow soon.
ReplyDeleteNice step forward, but we still need more frequent and year-round connections, especially to major hubs. Let’s hope these tenders bring real results.
ReplyDeleteGreat news that! Maybe the second one is also from Wizzair and it could be maybe Bucharest or Charleroi or even Budapest.
ReplyDeleteIt's two different airlines but could be several routes by each.
DeleteIndustry sources are wrong. Wizz air didn't apply for subsidies and they are not the applicant for TIA route.
ReplyDeleteSame sources were claiming that Air Baltic's LPA route was also applicant for government subsidies.
DeleteIt was.
DeleteTIA would be great for summer holidays, too. Here in SLO more and more people are going to Albania and all so far have nothing but great things to say, though now they mostly drive. Wizz did launch TIA from TRS, so doubtful LJU would be getting it, too, right?
DeleteTIA is not part of subs ...
DeleteFake news again, TIA is eligible for subsidies.
Deletewhats your problem ... yes they are eligible but they didnt sign up for it ...
DeleteOk since you know, tell us which routes and airlines applied.
DeleteI will say again - fake news. TIA is eligible and there is application ongoing for subsidies. Not Wizz air.
DeleteIt’s encouraging to see progress, but one weekly flight won’t solve Ljubljana’s connectivity issues.
ReplyDeletebut it will create new passengers
DeleteNot sure. Canary Islands was already served by charter flights, this one is in fact replacing the charter ones. Most probably some agencies in Slovenia have already committed to purchase some seats, instead of organizing their own charter.
DeleteNothing wrong with that. Great leisure route with seats available to individuals for competitive price is much better then closed charters.
DeleteHoping for the best
ReplyDeleteWell I for one think this is exactly the kind of routes we need. Direct access to leisure hotspots without needing to connect through Frankfurt or Vienna. Hope it’s just the beginning.
ReplyDelete* wanted to write Munich not VIE :)
DeleteCould not agree more, this has been lacking even in the Adria times - charters aside of course
DeleteCould we eventually see an air baltic base in LJU?
ReplyDeleteI think there is a greater chance we will see air baltic go bankrupt. Their strategy of buying a limitless number of A220s is now starting to bite as loan repayments starts and get bigger.
DeleteHaters gonna hate
DeleteBut it's not the "haters" firing the carrier's CEO and his dumb decisions
DeleteCongrats LJU for LPA. Fingers crossed for Canary Islands from BEG.
ReplyDeleteFraport is the operator, fighting for new routes like noone.
DeleteHow yes no
DeleteBravo Fraport!
ReplyDeleteOne weekly seasonal flight doesn’t fix the fact that we’ve lost dozens of routes in the past few years. We need airlines to treat Ljubljana as a base, not a side project.
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteDozens means a multitude of 12 - can you name all these numerous routes we've lost? And remember, it must be at least 24 of them to constitute "dozens" in the plural.
DeleteWe lost Geneva, Bucharest, Stockholm and 21 Frankfurts.
DeleteWe keep hearing about tenders and discussions, but actual results have been minimal. Let’s see something concrete from Wizz Air or others soon.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see Ljubljana get routes to Spain and Portugal. These single leisure destinations are nice, but we need more.
ReplyDeleteWill they announce the tender winnters tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteThe most drawn out process ever...
DeleteHopefully this is a sign that airlines are starting to take our market seriously again.
ReplyDeleteIs Air Baltic base in Las Palmas winter seasonal?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteMeanwhile Zagreb and Trieste continue adding routes without government tenders. Why can’t Slovenia figure this out?
ReplyDeleteTrieste is giving out Ryanair specific tax breaks in order to have their base. Imagine giving tax breaks in Slovenia to one specific foreign airline, all the biggest unions would stage a protest infront of the parliament the next day.
DeleteTrieste isn't "giving them tax breaks" because Trieste is in no position to do so. FVG only cancelled its planned local airline tax. TRS airport last year was profitable. https://www.intrieste.com/2025/04/30/trieste-airport-reports-strong-financial-performance/
Deletewe’re celebrating one weekly flight?
ReplyDeleteEvery new route helps. Especially off season.
DeleteAnon 09:51 You forgot to mention that this route was served by charter flights already :))
DeleteLPA was not served as (regular) charter since Adria is gone.
DeleteHope the bids are from LCCs.
ReplyDeleteMe too
DeleteWould not be surprised if commission rejects the revised bids 😀
ReplyDeleteSame
DeleteHappened with Cyprus.
DeleteCyprus was not serious. They decided not to continue the application process.
DeleteIs there still possibility Cyprus airlines applied?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteAnyone thinks that this tender is completely different than the other 7? They didn't name the airlines, and destinations...is there any chance that Croatia and LOT applied for more than one route? Surely there is something to it, if they are hiding it like that?
ReplyDeleteIt's different because more than 1 airline actually applied. They haven't had this much work since they started the tenders.
DeleteSJJ must be introduced ASAP
ReplyDeleteIs there demand
DeleteIt could work with small plane but I don't see it working with A320.
DeletePeople said the same about SKP.
DeleteIz Ljubljane do Madrida po novem z Vuelingom
ReplyDeleteŠpanski nizkocenovni prevoznik Vueling je naslednja novost, ki letošnje poletje prihaja v Slovenijo in na Hrvaško. Prisoten bo namreč na ljubljanskem letališču pa tudi na letališčih v Zagrebu, Dubrovniku in Splitu, omenjena letališča pa bo povezoval s špansko prestolnico Madrid. Gre za letalsko družbo, ki je del skupine International Airlines Group, v katero sodi tudi Iberia. Ta se je konec minulega poletja odzvala na razpis za subvencioniranje letalskih povezav in enkrat na teden začela leteti med Ljubljano in Madridom.
Vueling bo svoje polete ponujal pod isto oznako kot Iberia, njihov prihod pa pomeni, da bosta Ljubljana in Madrid odslej povezana dvakrat na teden. Omenjena povezava bo znova vzpostavljena 27. julija, poleti pa bodo nato v obe smeri potekali vsako sredo in nedeljo, do vključno 7. septembra. Poleti bodo v obe smeri potekali isti dan, pri čemer bodo nedeljski poleti dopoldanski (iz smeri Madrida proti Ljubljani) oziroma popoldanski (v obratni smeri), sredini poleti pa popoldanski oziroma večerni. Urnike poletov lahko najdete na tej povezavi.
does anyone know what finance is talking about?
That just copied this article
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/06/vueling-expands-croatia-slovenia.html
*they
DeleteCodesharing...and it's not them coming to Ljubljana...terrible journalism
DeleteThe same as 24ur reporting that LJU is getting a connection with Israel… The government just extended the agreement for the route that has been operating in the past years.
DeleteWow that is really crazy how they copied that news from ex-Yu 😂
DeleteAbout 80% of the LPA flights are now selling in the high 250+€ one way, only last flight is available for less than 150€
ReplyDeleteMy guess is they'll sell out on most of them by week-end
December 26th flight: 392.99€ one way
DeleteI hope this could result in additional frequencies
DeleteSunday flight should be doable...
DeleteFingers crossed
ReplyDeleteSo did this come from subsidies or no? And same for Tirana rumours? I am confused after reading the comments and the article.
ReplyDeleteIf Wizz Air really launches Ljubljana–Tirana that would be a fantastic move.
ReplyDeleteIt’s about time the government’s subsidy scheme started showing results. More competition and choices are always welcome.
ReplyDeleteWondering if easyJet is the second airline mentioned in the tender.
ReplyDeleteI really hope so. They used to be much bigger in LJU.
DeleteFares for this Canary Island flights have exploded on Air Baltic website. Very expensive.
ReplyDeleteAround Christmas holidays I notice.
DeleteIs there any chance Wizz Air could open a base in Ljubljana?
ReplyDeleteNo
DeleteSlovenia needs a national airline to cover the missing links, but one with this type of aircraft: https://fb.watch/A1tEZ_OdsW/ (spoiler: the new D328eco)
ReplyDelete