Close to one million passengers travelled between the former Yugoslav markets and Spain during the January - October period, marking a record level of traffic. Throughout 2025, several new routes were launched between the region and Spain, including Croatia Airlines’ new Zagreb - Madrid service, complementing Iberia’s seasonal operation, Wizz Air’s Belgrade - Alicante flights, Ryanair’s Sarajevo - Girona route, and Vueling’s new Tivat - Barcelona service. In addition, Wizz Air restored flights between Skopje and Barcelona following a three-year hiatus. In late October, Wizz Air inaugurated operations between Belgrade and Madrid, while airBaltic introduced flights between Ljubljana and Las Palmas. Both routes were operated only once within the reporting period.
Croatia handled 555.735 passengers on services to and from Spain, representing a year-on-year increase of 17.3%. Zagreb accounted for the most travellers at 276.546, up 26.7%, driven primarily by Ryanair’s strong growth on its Spanish routes from the Croatian capital. Dubrovnik welcomed 157.978 passengers on Spain services, an increase of 12%, while Split saw 108.759 travellers, up 16.2%. Zadar recorded 12.452 passengers, down 29.4% year-on-year, reflecting a 30% cut in Ryanair’s flights to Barcelona.
Top five Croatia - Spain vv routes by passengers carried, JAN - OCT 2025
The Serbian market recorded strong growth on services to Spain, with Belgrade handling 337.853 passengers to and from the country, up 15.8%. Barcelona remained the most popular destination, accounting for more than half of all Spain-bound traffic, followed by Madrid, Valencia, Malaga and Alicante. Wizz Air's new service to Alicante, launched in June, carried 28.223 passengers by the end of October, achieving an average cabin load factor of 90.8%.
Top five Serbia - Spain vv routes by passengers carried, JAN - OCT 2025
The bulk of passengers between Slovenia and Spain were carried on Iberia’s seasonal service between Ljubljana and Madrid, which saw 3.387 travellers, up 94.2% on last year. The remaining passengers flying between the two countries were distributed across leisure services operated by Trade Air, as well as the new Ljubljana - Las Palmas route, which launched on October 25 and accounted for just a single rotation within the reporting period.
Skopje handled 17.999 passengers on Wizz Air’s Barcelona service, with the carrier achieving an average cabin load factor of 95.6%. The airline also launched operations between the Macedonian capital and Madrid on October 28, accounting for just one rotation within the figures.
Montenegro welcomed 18.074 passengers on Spain services. Of these, 16.666 travelled on Vueling’s new Tivat - Barcelona route, which recorded an average load factor of 87.8%, while the remaining 1.408 passengers were carried on limited Iberia-operated Madrid charters. The Spanish flag carrier will launch seasonal flights between Madrid and Tivat next year.
Sarajevo saw 22.809 passengers on Ryanair’s new Girona service, which commenced on March 31. The route recorded an average cabin load factor of 86.2% by October.
Fantastic growth and it only shows how badly Vueling failed in BEG. They never took this market seriously so in the end they were punished by both Air Serbia and Wizz Air.
ReplyDeleteNice to see Valencia reporting double digit growth. Always fun to remember Marek's statement regarding additional frequencies and there not being any growth. Maybe Serbia could hit the half a million mark next year.
Malaga and Valencia could go to 4 weekly flights easily
DeleteTrue about Vueling but at least they earned some peanuts. Both Wizz and Air Serbia lost a ton of money by delaying these launches for so long. I remember sometimes having like half of a plane in Timisoara packed with Serbs heading to Spain. The writing has been on the wall for last 10 years minimum.
DeleteWhat was the first ever Ex Yu - Spain flight in post war period?
DeleteI think both JU and W6 made enough money on their flights to Spain in order to compensate for the loss you are talking about.
DeleteJU boosting MAD this winter was definitely the right move. I agree that both VLC and AGP should get extra frequencies. JU has enough destinations, now it's time to start densifying their network.
Fantastic to see how much traffic to Spain has grown.
ReplyDeleteThose are good load factors all around.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteEspecially Slovenia and Macedonia 94 and 95 LF % is massive
DeleteThank you so much for these numbers!
ReplyDeleteRyanair absolutely transformed Zagreb’s Spain numbers. Without them the growth would be half of what it is.
ReplyDeleteCroatia to Spain traffic is booming thanks mostly to tourism. Madrid and Barcelona are now easier to reach than ever. Still waiting for nonstop Bilbao or Seville though.
DeleteSpanish tourists are crazy for Dalmatia
DeleteAnonymous09:20 - sure. One spanish island has almost as much tourist as whole croatia ...
DeleteCroatia has 1268 islands and a long coast.
DeleteActually, Croatia has longer coast than Spain, because of so many islands.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_length_of_coastline
Although if size comparisons are in order. The UK has double the length of coast than Croatia and three times more islands. I know which one I'd rather have my summer holiday on though.
DeleteRyanair is the real winner here. Their strategy in Zagreb is paying off big time. Spanish routes are among their top performers.
DeleteInteresting stats. Wizz Air started flights to Alicante in June and have better pefomonace than Air Serbia on flights to Valencia in whole period January-October
ReplyDeleteWizz Air uses 240 seat A321s. Also how do you know "it's a better performance"? Route performance is calculated by profit made. You have insight into how much money each made on the route?
DeleteI am not surprised since Wizz Air was relatively cheap and they operated the route with the high density A321.
DeleteBtw one of my colleagues and her husband went with a tour agency to Valencia last month. They actually flew to Alicante with Wizz Air. I think it's time for JU to actually boost VLC like they did MAD and BCN.
Anon 09.16
DeleteWell, if VLC was a spectacular performer for JU then they would have boosted their presence there like they did with LCA for example.
How many flights did they have to VLC this summer? Was it 2 or 3?
It is obviously doing well as they have double digit passenger growth. Judging by some comments hsre, you would think JU is doing terribly on every route.
DeleteSo why isn't JU adding flights to VLC then? Let me remind you that Marek himself stated that by adding more flights to VLC they didn't get (a lot) more passengers. So who is right and who isn't Anon 09.22?
DeleteThere has to be a reason why JU is stuck at two (or three) weekly to VLC while other destinations keep on growing.
Marek did not sat that at all, He said:
Delete"In some markets, Valencia, for example, adding extra frequencies doesn’t necessarily stimulate additional demand. You simply have to accept the limitations of leisure-driven traffic. On the other hand, routes like Madrid, Barcelona and similar markets present clear opportunities for densification, and we will continue to build frequency there where demand supports it”.
And in the end, he was right. They stimulated demand with the same number of flights, which is shown by double digit growth.
Valencia could go to 4 weekly easily, few weeks ago I was flying BEG-LCA, and sitting next to me was a Spanish guy who had connection VLC-BEG-LCA with Air Serbia. There is also opportunity for connections as Valencia isn’t small city.
DeleteThe metropolitan population of Valencia is about the size of Belgrade, and the Valencian AC is the 4th richest region of in Spain making it a fine destination indeed.
DeleteOne reason Valencia - BG might struggle to grow is that the city is extremely well connected around Europe. Ryanair have a massive base there linking everything from Fes in Morocco to Poznan. The options for JU to act as a connecting carrier are not vast, but destinations such as Larnaca clearly are a good call.
Anon 10.27
DeleteSo what you (and Marek) are saying is that growth would have been the same without adding any additional flights? That makes zero sense and anyone with basic knowledge in aviation would agree with me. There is a reason why airlines rush to add frequencies especially if they are running a hub system, like JU does.
With extra flights their growth in VLC could have been much higher. For starters, they wouldn't lose customers to W6's ALC flight or to LH, KL, OS, LX... all who offer one stop flights via their hubs.
With 2 or 3 weekly flights to Valencia they simply can't be competitive for transfer passengers. This is a large and lucrative market and if JU isn't performing well there then it has more to do with them than with the VLC market.
If they had
Anon 11.28
DeleteExactly and that is exactly why they need to keep on adding flights in order to remain competitive. The market is there, they just need to fight for it.
In my opinion, their summer schedule to Spain should be something like this:
BCN 14x
PMI 7x
MAD 7x
VLC 4x
AGP 4x
You seem to be unable to comprahend that they have double digit growth on Valencia route. So I don't know how you came to the conclusion that they lost passengers to Wizz Air's Alicante flights.
DeleteWith 350+eur tickets they'll have these frequencies somewhere around 2035...
DeleteAnon 13.15
DeleteYou are aware that these numbers include the period before Wizz Air launched ALC, right?
The fact they are not growing, despite increasing passenger numbers, can only mean they are not too happy with the route.
If they were then they would have added frequencies like they did to Rome, Paris, Larnaca etc.
So tell us please, why aren't they growing in VLC if the route is such a success as you claim.
Anon 13.17
DeleteI also noticed they tend to be quite expensive to Spain (mostly in summer). My guess is that they sell a lot of seats to tour operators so they can afford to charge that much.
That is why it's good that they added more flights to MAD.
@Nemjee well you cant generalize this statment on all airports... JU can target transfer passengers from airports like LJU and SJJ because of their bad connectivity. On the other hand I am sure the transfer passengers on route BEG-VLC or vice versa are mostly P2P passengers since you operate in airport (VLC) which has flights to almost every biger destination in Europe + there are 3 airlines that have base there... Ryanair, Vueling and Iberia if i am not wrong.
DeleteIST has flights to pretty much anywhere in the world yet JU carries a lot of transfers on this route. So why would this apply to IST (or ATH) but not to VLC?
DeleteWell you have a point, but on the other hand in VLC, JU compete with FR and VY that offers flights for 50 eur return. I didnt choose to fly with TK to IST, because flyign via BEG departure time was more suitable for me. The price differenc was minimal. But if the the direct flight was for lets say 50 eur and the other one was 200 i wouldn think twice to try and catch the one for 50eur.
Delete@Nemjee 13.39 you regularly claim JU can't grow frequencies because of lack of pilots and crew. So now it turns oit they grow everywhere just not in Valencia.
DeleteAnon 14.19
DeleteCould you please be so kind to read more carefully what I wrote. I did not say they grew everywhere but I mentioned several markets where they added flights in recent times.
As you are very well aware, JU has also cut certain destinations so they just shuffled capacity from one place to the other.
The pilot shortage is real which is why they still have to rely so much on wet-leases.
I hope I managed to clear my point so that there is no more confusion.
TRIVEX, which is why JU needs to have a lot of frequencies so as to be competitive, not just faced with VY or FR but airlines such as LH, AF...
DeleteIn Istanbul they can be more competitive because they offer more than daily flights. I am sure that in VLC airlines such as Turkish Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa... carry transfers as well. Air Serbia needs to offer these people enough flexibility so that they chose to fly with them via BEG rather than via FRA, CDG etc.
That is why I used specific markets such as LCA or ATH which are very competitive yet JU has managed to find its place.
Last November I flew to Valencia with LX/OS BEG-ZRH-VLC, VLC-VIE-BEG, simply because days JU flies directly weren’t good for me. And price was same.
DeleteI fly VIE-BEG on OS quite often (night flight) and there are always a lot of transfers from BRU. I see from their SN luggage tags and boarding passes.
DeleteI guess it's the same as with your case. JU's competition profits from their weak presence in many markets such as BRU or VLC.
Bravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteTivat–Barcelona worked much better than expected. Almost 88% LF for a brand-new route is great. Let’s hope Vueling keeps expanding in Montenegro.
ReplyDeleteThought it would struggle, but loads turned out to be very solid.
DeleteSKP-BCN is going strong so far, how about the route to Madrid, any info for the LF so far
ReplyDeleteIt says in the article the numbers include a single Madrid flight. It just launched.
DeletePeople so often don't read the articles properly before asking questions about LF and performance.
DeletePeople are "too busy" or "don't have time". I guess writing a comment is quicker than reading article that's clearly divided between airports.
Delete09:12 Madrid was lauched in late october so there are still not any info....
DeleteLjubljana’s numbers are tiny but finally moving in the right direction. Iberia’s 98% LF shows there’s real demand if you actually offer the flights.
ReplyDeleteSlovenia is underserved
DeleteAlmost a million passengers and still very limited offer to Canary Islands. Market is definitely underserved.
ReplyDeleteIt is too far away
DeleteIt is a long rotation from the Balkans like anon @9.23 says. It is likely that's why there are so few flights.
DeleteIt's a long rotation for whole of Europe basically.
DeleteMaybe JU could do it if they schedule it at around 07.30 and for it to be back at night just before the midnight wave. Like that they could offer a lot of connections both ways.
DeleteAlso from Nov 16th Ljubljana- Barcelona (Vueling). Really, this is out of period on article.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me soooo proud to see how well developed the air traffic between YU and Spain meanwhile is. And 98.4% on IB LJUMAD is just awesome, same as BEGBCN numbers or those out of DBV.
ReplyDeleteThe market is exploding and we’re still only scratching the surface. Imagine the numbers once more year-round routes are launched.
ReplyDeleteGood numbers
ReplyDeleteAnd besides so big traffic and demand between Serbia and Spain we still do not see Iberia in Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteIt is really strange.
Other airlines used the opportunity they didn't.
DeleteWith JU and W6 flying to MAD I just don't see them launching BEG.
DeleteMaybe Vueling could launch something new from Spain to Belgrade... though there is less and less room for them to do so without a major fight for the market.
I don't think we will see more airline on Spain-Serbia market. It is now completely ruled by Air Serbia and Wizz. They took a chance and it paid off.
DeleteCanary Islands from BEG. Ithink it's a matter of time when someone lounch it.
DeleteIf Vueling have a base there, they could make a good business. Also, Seville or Bilbao may do wonders for them
DeleteVueling do not operate from the Canary Islands to mainland Europe direct with the exception of Paris so flights to Belgrade are defiantly not realistic anytime soon.
DeleteMaybe it's time for INI to become proactive. They should encourage Ryanair to operate a summer seasonal flight to Girona.
DeleteTwo weekly should do just fine.
+1
DeleteWow, good numbers for the Ryanair Sarajevo - Girona route!
ReplyDeleteFR should test Barcelona proper. They would fill it with ease.
DeleteDidn’t expect that many Bosnians heading to Costa Brava. Good to see.
DeleteNot just Costa Brava, Barcelona too, it's a well developed route
DeletePeople underestimate how much diaspora travel there is between Spain and the Balkans now. It’s not just tourism anymore.
ReplyDeleteTrue
DeleteSpain is cheaper option and affordable from Balkan, every citizen here could visit them for at least 3-4 nights, I found out some articles were even cheaper in Barcelona than Skopje...
DeleteYou'd be surprised just how many people from the region neither have the money for extended holidays nor fly abroad so i doubt "every" citizen can afford that. But yes many things in Spain can be cheaper than in ExYu, especially food and wine which make it a very compelling destination for holidaymakers. Another lovely thing about Spain is its size and regional diversity.
DeleteThe biggest surprise is how strong Alicante performed from Belgrade. 28k pax by October on a brand-new route is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteMadrid is becoming a hot route across the region. Zagreb, Belgrade, Ljubljana, Skopje
ReplyDeleteINI-BCN with W6 or Girona with Ryan at least seasonally.
ReplyDeleteI’m not shocked by Dubrovnik’s numbers. Spanish tourists are everywhere here in summer. Another carrier could easily join the market.
ReplyDeleteAir Europa hasn't even entered the chat
ReplyDeleteThey do codeshare with JU. But you are right, they are completely absent from this region.
DeleteThey recently launched Istanbul so they might finally look towards the Balkans.
DeleteDidn't they start IST because TK bought a share in them?
DeleteDespite its name, Air Europa don't actually have a very large European network, and apart from seasonal routes to Athens they don't fly to the eastern half of the continent at all.
DeleteRyanair is eating Croatia Airlines' lunch route by route.
ReplyDeleteOU sleeping as usual. Madrid launched only now, Malaga nowhere. Meanwhile Ryanair thanks them kindly.
DeleteThere is Madrid.
DeleteImagine the numbers once more year round routes are launched.
ReplyDeleteThese will be way past a million next year.
ReplyDeleteFor sure will be Barcelona from Skopje is launched later this year as well Madrid, next year those numbers will be way higher
DeleteAre there any new Spain routes launching next year?
ReplyDeleteYes, Madrid-Tivat by Iberia.
DeleteAir Serbia will probably launch Ibiza, which they wanted to start this year.
DeleteAnd Podgorica-Barcelona too.
DeleteCongratulations. Good figures!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised it took this long for ex-Yu - Spain travel to become popular.
ReplyDeleteWell all it took for flights to actually launch.
DeleteHopefully Portugal will be discovered next.
DeleteBarcelona and Madrid as must have to all Ex-yu airports , just see the LF on some routes is 90+ which is amazing... that tells everything
DeleteI flew BEG–BCN in July, the plane was full of students, families, and half of Belgrade apparently. Demand is insane.
ReplyDeleteIn August too. Many transfers also.
DeleteSkopje desperately needs Malaga. I’m telling you, that route would be packed year-round.
ReplyDeleteLet's first see how Madrid performs.
DeleteThere will be more routes to Spain coast next year, Wizz air already announce they have plane to launch more routes....
DeleteSlovenia needs year-round Spain. The numbers prove it. If Iberia did well, others will too.
ReplyDeleteIsn't the new Vueling route year round?
DeleteThere are so many more opportunities in Spain for JU/W6
ReplyDelete- Bilbao
- Seville
- Canary Islands
- Increasing frequencies to VLC and AGP
Maybe Wizzair could start flying BEG-AGP, and compete with JU?
As Serbia increases in wealth its options for essentially leisure routes such as the Canary Islands will improve. Its a long and expensive journey to get to Gran Canaria as things stand, and there certainly is a market based on my own experience visiting.
DeleteWhether people's anecdotal evidence or wishes can transpire into profitable scheduled flights is another matter. But based on travel and tourism patterns in Budapest and Bucharest (admittedly bigger and richer markets, but similar in many ways to BG) flights to the Canary Islands will defiantly one day be viable prospect.
Don't think Wizz will pick the fight over AGP, although you can see the LCC power when it comes to leisure on these single-airline operated routes: BEG-AGP 29k, ZAG-AGP 70k
DeleteWow Skopje-Barcelona LF is amazing 95% and launched just couple months ago not even a year of operation and handled 18k passengers, just showing the massive demand for this route
ReplyDeleteProbably after Ljubljana this will be Wizz airs Skopje busiest route....
16.49 ? How can a twice weekly flight be Wizz's busiest route? The prize goes to Basel or Memmingen surely.
Delete