Over the past year, Mostar Airport has experienced a revival in operations. The opening of its first airline base with Italian carrier Sky Alps marked a major milestone, accompanied by the introduction of a record number of scheduled services. In addition to year-round flights to Zagreb and Belgrade, the airport is seasonally connected to cities such as Munich, Bari, Naples, Palermo, Bergamo and Rome, while Eurowings serves Stuttgart and Dusseldorf. Talks are ongoing for the introduction of new routes in 2026 with key European markets. Passenger numbers have grown considerably, and the airport has become a recipient of subsidised services operated by Sky Alps, Croatia Airlines and Air Serbia.
Financially, Mostar Airport remains reliant on government support. Although revenues more than doubled in 2024, reaching over 767.000 euros, operating expenses also rose sharply to approximately five million euros. Profit from regular operations fell by 70%, amounting to just over 51.000 euros. Subsidies played a crucial role in maintaining stability, with government support totalling 4.2 million euros in 2024. The airport anticipates that the continued backing from the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, the basing of an air tanker for firefighting duties and the strategic partnership with Sky Alps will all contribute to a more sustainable and resilient operational environment in the years to come.
The last paragraph is key and shows why Mostar Airport is completely unsustainable with every single one of its routes subsidised. It was in much better shape in 2014/15 when it had more passengers without paying for them because it was focusing on charters from Italy and Poland. A measure of success should not be just how many scheduled routes an airport has. There is no chance the airport will get a bank loan with its current financial results and this project will just remain a nice idea unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteSad but true.
DeleteWould be interesting to see how much Sky Alps is getting for the base.
DeleteIn Tuzla is the same, all routes are subsidised.
DeleteLooks good
ReplyDeleteLong overdue
ReplyDeleteMedjugorje scam
DeleteLet’s hope the financing comes through. Mostar has a lot of potential especially for religious tourism and diaspora traffic.
ReplyDeleteGood progress but relying so heavily on subsidies isn’t sustainable long term. They need to focus more on building commercial revenue if they want to stand on their own feet.
ReplyDeleteFirst they need to focus on settling debts to employees and raising their salaries. They already striked and they will continue until get paid properly
DeleteStill surprised no real low-cost carriers have taken a chance on Mostar yet.
ReplyDeletepilots still need special training to land at Mostar due to the surrounding terrain. This might be an issue
DeleteMostar could really benefit from a marketing push. Not enough people in Western Europe or even regionally realise they can fly there now.
ReplyDeleteMedjugorje scam
Deletethey should look into making at least some routes profitable on their own first before getting into loans and spending money on this project.
ReplyDeleteMostar should now go after the Scandinavian diaspora. That market’s been ignored for too long.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion adding connectivity to hubs like Vienna or Zurich would make a huge difference for onward travel. They should go after those routes.
Delete10:22 You're definitely right. It could also be Frankfurt or Munich through Air Dolomiti (LH is not realistic for Mostar) or LOT to Warsaw-Chopin.
DeleteThis CEO is all talk. Meanwhile he has less passengers then when no money was given to airlines, his workers are striking and whatever happened to his claims IST route would be rescheduled within days?
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI agree to a certain extent. It is easy to show that you are very scusesfull when you compare to 2 years ago when you had no traffic. But what;s the explanation when compared to 10 years ago?
DeleteMostar will always be in a tough spot geographically between Split, Dubrovnik and Sarajevo. Expansion helps but it won’t fix that overnight.
ReplyDeleteThe expansion has nothing to do with stimulating traffic.
DeleteExpanding the terminal is key if they want to seriously position Mostar as the gateway to Medjugorje.
DeleteMostar has a big potential for more flights during the winter, because that's when Split and Dubrovnik have much fewer routes and passengers than during the summer, and Sarajevo has problems with fog.
DeleteMaribor 2.0
ReplyDeleteNot even close
DeleteMorava 2.0
DeleteIt can't be Maribor because Maribor has no flights.
DeleteWaste of money
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteHow big of a loan are they asking for. How much will this expansion cost?
ReplyDeleteMostar’s terminal is long overdue for expansion. With the current setup, even two flights at the same time can overwhelm the building.
ReplyDeleteLong overdue? It finally has traffic since last year after 10 years.
DeleteWhy not seek EU cofinancing for the terminal works? Other airports in the region have done the same and it would ease the burden on local budgets.
ReplyDeleteCan Bosnia seek EU cofinincing with its EU accession process frozen?
Deletedo they have enough apron space and parking for additional aircraft once the new routes start arriving?
ReplyDeleteI highly doubt B&H can support four international airports.
ReplyDeleteWell they have been doing it for 30 years.
DeleteIt's great to see this airport booming again.
ReplyDeleteExcellent news
ReplyDeleteHope it gets built as planned.
ReplyDelete