Wizz Air says diversification is driving its continued growth in the Macedonian market, as the low cost carrier expands beyond traditional diaspora traffic with a broader mix of leisure, city-break and regional routes. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, Wizz Air Network Officer Andras Szabo said, “Macedonia is really close to our heart. This is a market we highly appreciate. We see a strong growth profile in Macedonia, which already started late last year with significant expansion as we added aircraft and upgraded existing based aircraft from the A320 to the A321 type. The growth is coming from multiple types of travel. We have opened more routes geared towards leisure and city-break traffic, and we are indeed seeing demand for them. Some of them were bolder choices, such as the Spanish routes, but we see there is demand”.
Wizz Air has fuelled growth to record levels at both of Macedonia’s two international airports this year. During the January - April period, the pair handled a combined total of 852.573 passengers, representing an increase of 55% on the same period last year. During the first half of 2026, Wizz Air’s volume of available seat capacity in the country has increased 66.4% or by 623.560 seats.
Mr Szabo noted, “Macedonia is making strong efforts to market new flights, with both the airport and the country working with us on route development. We are also exploring different intra-Balkan connections, something we started a few years back with Ljubljana. At the same time, we do not want to forget routes to Italy, which are really multi-purpose. I would not say they are only diaspora routes, as outbound travel is also present. We are also continuing to expand from Ohrid, which serves both for inbound and outbound travel. The best word is diversification, which is fuelling our growth, and Macedonia remains very close to our hearts”.
TAV Macedonia, the operator of Skopje and Ohrid airports, took part in last week’s Routes Europe development forum in Rimini, where it held meetings with numerous airline partners. The airport operator has identified Helsinki and Amsterdam as key network targets, while also highlighting the broader Scandinavian market as an area with significant growth potential.
Great to see Macedonia finally moving beyond being viewed only as a diaspora market.
ReplyDeleteAs people have more disposable income this was naturally going to be the case.
DeleteWith the leisurr routes definitely Macedonia is moving forward kf being just gasto place thats true
DeleteWizz is the best thing to have ever happened to ExYu region aviation. ❤️
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteIt needs to happen in SJJ too
Deletewondering what went wrong last time
DeleteThey went to Tuzla not Sarajevo :)) they will not go be competition to Ryanair in size of airport like Sarajevo
DeleteA 55% increase in passenger traffic is impressive, but it also shows how much demand was being left untapped over the past few years.
ReplyDeleteYou do remember COVID, right?
DeleteCovid screw everything and after that the engine issues they had. I couldnt imagine what would happend if all those issuses never happened
DeleteDo you guys think there is any chance they will launch OHD to LJU?
ReplyDeleteIf the Macedonian side is offering subsidies, which I think it is. I think it would be possible seasonally.
DeleteIt would for sure also be attractive for Slovenes going on a holiday, I would definitely like to visit for a few days to cool down in the summer.
DeleteIsnt Ohrid easily accessable from Skopje? How is motorway saga pogressing?
DeleteWell with the drive being almost three hours a direct flight would be way better than having to take (probably) multiple buses to from SKP to Ohrid.
DeleteFirst you need to take a bus from the airport to the city (~30min), then another bus to Ohrid (~4h). You might also have to wait some time at the bus station for the next bus to Ohrid (add maybe an hour there). By car the entire journey would take around 4 hours. Also the motorway saga won't end anytime soon, at least not in the next 5 years, so having a direct flight is the best option.
Deletebecause you asked very simply "any chance" I would say yes. Every route (or region) that has more than 5 weekly departures from Skopje is a candidate for OHD. Taking into account only year-long routes
DeleteThe macedonian diaspora in Slovenia is from all over the country and its not only students from Skopje
Is it faster to reach Ohrid from Tirana aiport nowadays?
DeleteWith your own car is nearly the same.
DeleteAnon 14:58,
DeleteLast time i went from Ohrid to TIA for 2:40, having in mind that no roads were renovated at the moment, the tourist season wasn't really started plus 3 min. border check, unlike at the moment for every part abovementioned.
To SKP on the other hand is at least 3,5 hrs in best possible scenario.
With all new highways that are being builded currently on the road to OHD expect around 2030 when all of them are planned tk be donr than you can drive to OHD for around 1.5 hours, now it takes roughly 3 , plus you drive by construction works all the way to OHD wbich takes time
DeleteThanks for thr info guys. I always enjoy visting that lovely part of the world.
DeleteThe success of the Spanish routes should encourage airlines to consider more leisure destinations from Macedonia. There is clearly demand beyond the traditional markets.
ReplyDelete+1
Delete"Macedonia is really close to our heart."
ReplyDeleteConsidering the amount of subsidies and lack of any sort of meaningful competition, I'm really not surprised.
Why always someone needs to destroy the nice and positive text with a comment like this 😭
DeleteBut it's true
DeleteYes and so whats the point of telling us that?
DeleteOnly money is close to their heart. Don't be naive. If no money, they would withdraw from SKP by afternoon
DeleteSo this means to any base they open in the Balkans is all about the money right ? They come to Skopje 15 years ago with handling 15+ millions of passengers and they have routes that are without subsidies, if they didnt wanted Macedonia they would left long time ago , stop hating the success please!!!
DeleteHe is not haiting, he is just saying whats true.
Deleteamount of subsidies is peanuts plus they get them only for 3 years. 90% of the routes are older than 3 years and self-sustainable
DeleteI am not hating anything. Just explaining that they will be here until success lasts. And yes, any base everywhere is about money. Not love. All airlines are going after revenue, not love. Sorry to ruin your snowman
Deletethe problem is your cynicism. The amount od subsidies they get is negligible when you count the total number of passengers they have at that airport
DeleteEverything is about the money , if airline doesnt see potential profit will not open any route right??. Which airline will go in minus just to open a route of a base??
DeleteWizz air is present in Macedonia for 15 years , half of the routes are not subsided.
He probably mention word love because of the success numbers and routes they have established in Macedonia as well the good relations with the country. Truth is one your hate is another. We get use that you spil on any success that Macedonia achiev
I have never mentioned subsidies. That's just your strange perception. For W6 doesn't matter if money comes from government, airport, tickets, tourist organisation, city or maybe combined. They just love the money, from anywhere to their account. Your problem is that you either don't understand English well or you have some prejudices/complexes.
DeleteRyanair did not love money ? Where did they go to fly without money ? Is only Wizz air loves money ? Or its just because Wizz air is present for 15 years in a market and doing great , it means they love money. Yes they do of course , are you working for free?Which airline dont love money and not fly for profit?? Please stop with this and once day something nice and positive , dont just ruin every article related to Macedonia and Wizz air
Delete"Considering the amount of subsidies"
Deleteyes you never mentioned them
Is this post a trail to a potential launch of new routes?
ReplyDeleteIt is , clearly I would say it smells on new Spain and Italian routes probably return of Copenhagen as well
Deletebut where could they else fly to Italy? Verona, somewhere in the Marche region like Ancona or extend the seasonality of Palermo?
DeleteIt will be good if they consider relaunch of Torino and make Palermo stay a bit longer
DeleteWe lost Frankfurt , we lost Amsterdam , October we are losing Paris orly , and we dont have Munich, London , Paris , Dubai , Doha and somehow someone is seeking Helsinki , is this for real ?? Btw I hope KLM cityhopper they are looking for Amsterdam not again Transavia showtime comr and leave
ReplyDeleteParis Orly will return
DeleteWhen will return as there was no flights after October last time I check ???
DeleteThanks ex-Yu. Really appreciate these articles!
ReplyDeleteThank you ❤️
ReplyDeleteI would not read too much into it, since its coming from Lignja, but apparently they are exploring the possibilties to base an aircraft in Ohrid
ReplyDeleteThis text is not coming from the minister , it comes from the Wizz air person as well TAV , I would tell you to start reading the articles first before starting to comment something.
DeleteWhat a stupid comment
DeleteMy reply had nothong to with the "text" but with Lignja's interview from last week
seeing four weekly to places like Prague, Bari and Napoli is like entering a next level :)
ReplyDeleteMadrid in April had more than 5k passengers
All of them doing great , they increased couple routes to 4x weekly , btw do you know the LF to Madrid??
Delete"We are also exploring different intra-Balkan connections"
ReplyDeleteWhich ones could be candidates? SKP-SPU/RJK/PUY, OHD-LJU, SKP-OTP
Plenty of Macedonian people in Rijeka and its aerea, plus tourism, plus it could cover for both Pula/Istra and Zagreb as well, so it could be a logical choice. Unfortunately with the management that chases away carrieers and turning airport into aircraft parking spot, I don't see it coming
Delete+1
Deletethe potential of the low cost travel market between HR and MK is literally untapped yet
Probably SKP-PDG summer seasonal I would say
DeleteOh Skopje to West Sumatra would be exotic indeed ;)
DeleteEasyjet from Amsterdam to SKP what are they wayting for?
ReplyDeleteWaiting for that to be a financial good move. Which is no easy matter given the costs of amsterdam.
DeleteThats why Transavia left , their route to to Skopje were in great shape but the cost of Amsterdam did the job
Delete😂 you also said that Lufthansa was doing amazing but left for some other reason. Seems everyone who is doing great in Skopje leaves.
DeleteLufthansa was doing great and everyone know that , in 2025 they had 120k passengers in a country of less than 2 million people. They did not left because of no demand , they left for other reasons such as fuel price and cheap market tickets , dont just troll us we all know why they left
DeleteWhere is did you find this statistic of 120,000 passengers? In any case, if you are interested in aviation, you should look up the word yield and what it means. Perhaps then you will understand why so many airlines have left.
DeleteWidely known fact that every airline does amazingly in SKP but it's somehow always something else's fault
DeleteOpen numbers and you will see how many passengers they had in 2025. If they didnt wanted to fly they would left earlier not after 3 years of operations. No one will fly empty A319,320 and 321 if there is no demand. Clearly Macedonian market is cheaper in compare to others where they can make more profit. But there is always chance for them to come back, maybe we will see them next year it is not end of the world.
DeleteWhere can I "open numbers"? That's what I am asking you.
DeleteNo, they could not have left before 2026, otherwise they would have had to retun all subsidies they received. As soon as 2026 came, they first reduced it from 10 to 3 weekly flights in winter (so 3 flights was enough to fill from the 10 they had on sale) and then in the middle of the high season in summer on 1 June ended all flights. If they were completely full, it would be diffcult to find quick alternatives for 10 weekly flights.
Wizz built very good brand awareness in Macedonia, usually when people want to go somewhere they automatically think of Wizz and they dont consider other airlines that much
ReplyDelete100% correct
DeleteThere isn't much else to consider
Deletehe probably thought of people not using flight search engines and stuff like that.
Deletethe sound of your reply sounds so familiar...
He thinks of everyone travelling intra Europe is going to choose Wizz air if they dont have any other connection which is normal
DeleteSeems that there is a segment of population in Macedonia that has, and spends a surprisingly high amounts of money, much more than official statistics suggests. It is open to speculation where that money is coming from...but....airlines expanding while just about all the major carriers are cancelling 1000s of flights ( LH), mercyless construction of new apartments in Skopje, while the city already has 40% surplus housing...official statistics just do not add up...but again this IS Balkans....
ReplyDeletelol dude
Deleteany chances of Wizz launching HEL?
ReplyDeletei mean if FR can fly from there it cannot be such an expensive airport or? Wizz also launched ARN
Possible we see Helsinki and Copenhagen from Skopje with Wizz air
DeleteOne more good news is Wizz air returns Larnaca from Skopje from april 2027 until October and it will run as summer seasonal route from next year :))) they also put tickets on sale
ReplyDelete