Eight EX-YU airports behind pre-pandemic passenger levels

Eight airports across the former Yugoslavia are still struggling to regain their pre-pandemic passenger volumes. These include Ljubljana, Tivat, Ohrid, Pula, Tuzla, Rijeka, Osijek and Brač. Ljubljana Airport, the largest among them, continues to feel the lasting effects of the collapse of Slovenia’s national carrier, Adria Airways, which ceased operations in late September 2019. During the first three quarters of this year, Ljubljana handled 1.233.329 passengers, down 15% on the same period in 2019.

Tivat Airport handled 1.182.904 passengers between January and September. Although volumes have improved significantly on last year, they remain 4% below pre-pandemic levels. The loss of the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian markets is the main driver. Compared to six years ago, airlines such as Aeroflot, Pobeda, Azur Air, Red Wings, NordStar, Ural Airlines, S7 Airlines and Brussels Airlines no longer serve Tivat, while Air Montenegro offers noticeably fewer flights and seats than the country’s former national carrier, which went bankrupt in December 2020.

Q1 - Q3 passenger traffic

Ohrid Airport's performance has been significantly impacted by Wizz Air’s reduced operations, particularly the loss of its London Luton service. The airport welcomed 209.832 passengers during the first three quarters, down 17% on 2019. Wizz Air has struggled with ongoing engine issues affecting its Airbus A320neo-family fleet over the past few years but has now begun rebuilding its network. In addition, compared to six years ago, Ohrid is no longer served by Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Eurowings, Corendon Airlines or Onur Air, the latter of which has since gone bankrupt. Tuzla has also been unable to return to pre-pandemic volumes due to Wizz Air closing its base there in 2023, although the carrier will restore base operations next month.

Croatia’s Pula, Rijeka, Osijek and Brač have also been unable to return to their 2019 figures. Pula has been adversely affected by the absence of carriers from Russia and Ukraine, including S7 Airlines, Red Wings, Windrose and SkyUp. In addition, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Swiss, Volotea and LOT Polish Airlines have all discontinued services. Rijeka Airport has seen its passenger numbers decline 16.2% compared to 2019 and is no longer served by Condor, airBaltic or Volotea. Osijek has been impacted by the loss of Wizz Air and Eurowings, both of which operated there six years ago, while Brač has been hit by the withdrawal of TUIfly Belgium, which once provided almost as much capacity as all scheduled airlines serving the airport this year combined.