The Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure has confirmed to EX-YU Aviation News that it is preparing the groundwork for the launch of a ninth public tender aimed at encouraging airlines to introduce new subsidised routes to the country, as part of ongoing efforts to enhance the country’s air connectivity. In a statement, it said, “The Ministry of Infrastructure is preparing the starting points for a new (ninth) tender”. The announcement follows the previous public call, which resulted in applications from airBaltic and Air Albania for services to Las Palmas and Tirana, respectively, both set to commence during the upcoming winter season. In previous rounds, carriers such as Luxair, airBaltic, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Iberia, Eurowings and Cyprus Airways have also submitted applications, although the latter was disqualified for failing to provide complete documentation.
If launched by October as anticipated, the ninth tender could mark the final round held under the current framework. Based on the current air connectivity tender rules, the Ministry of Infrastructure subsidises up to 50% of airport fees (landing charges, passenger fees, etc.) for each new route launched by an eligible airline, applicable for flights to Ljubljana, Maribor or Portorož airports. Funding comes from a total allocation of approximately 16.8 million euros over the 2023 - 2026 period, although less than two million has been used so far. Only airlines registered and based in the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) are eligible for the subsidies. The ECAA is made up of states that are part of the European Union, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Iceland, Macedonia, Norway, Kosovo and Montenegro.
Slovenia’s new Aviation Act (ZLet‑1), adopted in September 2024, which came into effect in April of this year is scheduled to become fully applicable on October 5. The law consolidates both civil aviation and state aviation activities under a single cohesive legislative framework. The new act provides the legal basis for revised air connectivity subsidy schemes. The current subsidy law (Aid for Ensuring Greater Air Connectivity) remains effective until October 5, and eligible to be replaced by schemes under ZLet‑1 afterward. The Ministry is already evaluating policy adjustments and keeping the door open to long-term strategic aviation partnerships. The new law will enable Slovenia to designate routes as Public Service Obligations (PSOs), which are air services deemed essential for regional connectivity and eligible for state subsidies when they cannot be operated profitably under normal market conditions.
With the PSO, does that mean they will offer money for infivifual routes and any EU airline can apply?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteIt will actually be interesting to see if all the PSO routes are from Ljubljana only or if we see Maribor or even Portoroz offered.
DeleteMaribor does not even have infrastructure to handle commercial passengers anymore.
DeleteSlovenia has the money and the new legal tools. What’s missing is urgency and leadership to execute a coherent plan.
DeleteBravo Fraport!
ReplyDeleteSo which routes will fall under PSOs then?
ReplyDeleteHave a guess
FRA is a must, others aren't needed..
DeleteI think that there is a big chance VIE will be one of the PSO routes.
DeleteVienna, Brussels, Rome, Madrid Berlin
DeleteBRU is already served so I highly doubt it will be a PSO route.
DeleteCrl
DeleteSorry but what would be the reasoning to make CRL a PSO route?
DeleteThey put it on priority list of the current tender :P... If it was up to me it wouldn't be
DeleteAh, ok. That was probably to get some LCC interested.
DeleteThe list of PSO destinations will probably depend on who they do a deal with beforehand :D
DeletePSO by priority: Vienna, Berlin, Prague, Rome, Madrid/Barcelona, LHR
Delete^ this makes sense
DeletePSO for LHR. Why not?
DeleteLHR with British serving the route 8pw? How is this justified
DeleteIt's not year round.
DeleteAnonymous12:42 - PSO for winter flights ...
DeleteAll those dreamlists... and at the end in will be Brussels. :-)
DeletePSO means Public Service OBLIGATIONS. E.g. LOT has a PSO route from Vilnius to London City. Many PSO routes also originate in Brussels. Therefore it will be LJU-BRU but nothing else, I suppose. Putting LJU- MAD, BCN, BER (examples only) totally misses the point of PSO.
DeleteAnonymous14:46 - sure ...
DeleteSo this in reality means OU/LOT/WIZZ can sit down with the government and discuss which routes they want to fly, and then the government putting down the tender for those routes?
ReplyDeleteLikely they have already done that :D
DeleteSo: Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Berlin, Rotterdam (?), Paris (?), Bern, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Rome, Milano, Vienna, Budapest, Bucharest, Sarajevo, Pristina, Sofija.... Anything else?
ReplyDeleteHEL, CPH, CDG and PRN are already served. I doubt Bern will be a PSO route.
DeleteNot in the winter months, and the government actively is promoting that on their state visits
DeletePRN is 1x a week w GP and that's a joke.
DeleteADRIA used to maintain this route 2x DAILY!
Bur Adria flew 2 daily because of transfer passengers. P2P can only probbaly sustain 1-2 weekly flights.
DeleteSaying that 13 out of 14 passengers from PRN were transfer is a bit of a stretch.
DeleteI have flown to PRN via LJU many times in the past and I can attest each time maybe one-third or max. 1/2 would remain for the connecting flight - the rest would go collect their luggage and leave the Terminal.
It's the same guy that complained SKP-LJU would never work because supposedly Adria carried only transfers. Also that it would never work because of the "high density" A320.
Delete50% of PRN and 70% of TIA were transfers. But still nice numbers and this was in 2018. Both routes should survive today under low-cost model.
DeleteThat's pretty doubtful. PRN possibly yes because of their immigrants but TIA no chance.
DeleteSure you would know.
DeleteYeah that's why no one wanted to serve it before the subsidies. Because it's very profitable route.
DeleteOh so just like SKP? Is that also unprofitable route for you?
DeleteI'm really hoping there is some positive development from the new law.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they are so slow with the ninth tender could be that they are waiting for October and these changes to take place. Let's see.
ReplyDeleteIt’s encouraging to see the ministry being proactive
ReplyDeleteUnlike the airport.
DeleteStop with conspiracies!
DeleteYou really think the airport does not negotiate with any of these airlines before they apply for subsidies?
DeleteI really think the airport does not.
DeleteOnly if the airline fits into their business model. Which means LH Group only.
Delete^ exactly
DeleteIf PSOs can be introduced under the new framework, maybe we’ll finally get year round service to key European hubs.
ReplyDeleteOnly 2 million used out of almost 17? Why not offer more money?
ReplyDeleteLaw os written in a way where they literally can't
DeleteWill they be able to use this left over money for PSO subsidy?
DeleteWe’ve been hearing about long term strategic partnerships for years. Time to actually make one happen
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteMaribor Airport deserves a chance too
ReplyDeleteIt has a chance. The problem is no one is interested.
DeleteMaribor will be taken over by Maribor municipality, and there is a plan to redo the whole spacial plan by 2027,it has a bright future if the municipality takes over.... Quite a few airlines are interested too, mostly for summer flights
DeleteI can't believe that they still haven't adopted a spatial plan. That is absolutely crazy. it's why the Chinese left so many years ago.
DeleteWhat's more crazy is they still haven't fixed the roof after one year.
DeleteIt's just sad how they have left the airport to rot. Waste of EU funds to renovate the airport in the 2000s.
DeleteLet’s hope this is the last tender under the current rules. Clearly it’s not working as intended if 90% of the budget is still untouched.
ReplyDeleteI think they might even wait till October to start the tender under new rules.
DeleteThey'll only go ahead with it if they see that another airline is interested in winter flights
DeleteYes, that makes sense
DeleteSo definitely no new national airline?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not.
DeleteSo Bratusek lied to everyone? She made it an election campaign promise to set up a new national airline.
DeleteWell she said her party would do that but that does not mean they can do it in a coalition.
Delete@11.28
DeleteYou are discovering now that politicians lie?
Could Portoroz sustain a weekly flight from Zurich and Luxembourg in the summer? And could those be included? I think TradeAir has enough free capacity for 2 weekly flights out of Portoroz in the summer
ReplyDeleteLarge aircraft can't land at Portoroz because the threshold is displaced more or less in the middle of the runway. Even JAT flew to Porotorz with load restrictions on the ATR72.
DeleteTradeAir has Saab that's ehy I mentioned it. 34seater could work great for some Portoroz routes, even to the likes of Prague or Frankfurt
DeletePortorož would be doable with atr 42 without restrictions and it could work for routes like Beg, Bud, Muc, Vie, Kra, maybe something around Milan or Florence . It could cover slovene coast and Northern Istra to Novigrad or even Poreč - but it would have to be established in cooperations with TO's and Hotel chains
DeleteTDR does not have Saab. That aircraft is leased. And it is fully utilized on domestic PSO flights. It is based in OSI. They don't have crews and free termins to operate it plus it would be too expensive to ferry/position aircraft twice weekly to and from Portoroz. So it is definitely not an option
DeletePortorož airport is a regional airport mostly used by smaller private jets. During the main season 50+ jets land daily on it. It is also used for some charter flights and panoramic flights.
DeleteI think the tenders have been pretty sucsesfull. Minimal money spent but over 5 new airlines at LJU. Not bad.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The results of these tenders are better then I expected.
DeleteYes those 4 weeks of flights to Madrid are amazing.
DeleteIberia didn't get a single EUR as their flights are profitable all the time (those flights are leisure flights for tour operators). But all other routes are more then welcome.
DeleteLet's go Slovenia!
ReplyDeleteLol
DeleteNo, it's Bravo Fraport!
DeleteThings are moving in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteStill 20% below 2019 passenger levels.
DeleteSame like in Croatia Airlines 11 27 🙂
DeleteWell I would not use OU as an example for anyone to strive to achieve.
DeleteOMG. I was sarcastic. Of course OU being pathetic feeder, going for extremely expensive single type fleet which will cement its feeder role, and making more and more losses, is not moving into right direction. The same as LJU with much less passengers and much less destinations than before. Is it really so difficult to understand it?
DeleteHow dare you with those conspiracies again!
DeleteThe ability to designate PSO routes is a big deal. That’s how other small markets keep essential air links alive. Hopefully Slovenia will use that tool wisely.
ReplyDeleteAgree
DeleteLets fingers cross for VIE,MAD,LIS,ARN,OSL and DUB.
ReplyDeleteThis would be ideal
DeleteIt would be nice to see Barcelona happen
DeleteI think Vueling would be a good fit for that.
DeleteMa kakvi, don't you know that all routes from LJU are unprofitable and that only FRA works?
DeleteSome Lufthansa Group airline will get all the PSO routes for sure.
ReplyDeleteAir Dolomiti.
DeleteI think there is a big possibility it could be Air Baltic.
DeleteI'm really hopinh its Ryanair or Wizz Air.
Delete^ Don't hold your breath
DeleteIt will most certainly be someone from the Lufthansa group.
DeleteAt this pace of spending, they will be organizing these tenders for the next decade.
ReplyDeleteAustrian and ITA please
ReplyDeleteIt would be good if non EU airlines could apply.
ReplyDelete