Two capital city airports in the former Yugoslav region are set to see their scheduled seat capacity levels decline during August when compared last year, while others will reach record levels. Wizz Air remains by far the region’s largest carrier, registering a combined total of over one million seats across the seven markets for a second consecutive month.
Belgrade Airport has the most available seats on scheduled flights in August, standing at 1.159.946. The figure represents an increase of 6.6% on 2025. Air Serbia will continue to maintain its position as the largest carrier with a record 632.244 seats, up 7.8% or an additional 45.752. Wizz Air will add 33.142 seats, growing by 22.1%. Zagreb follows as the second largest with 605.531 available seats on scheduled flights during the month. It represents a decrease of 3.9% on the previous year. Croatia Airlines will decrease its capacity by 4% but will continue to be the airport’s largest carrier with 215.869 seats. It is ahead of Ryanair with 196.094 seats, up 2.9%.
Skopje Airport will boast a record 497.031 seats in August, representing a 34.6% increase compared to the same month in 2025, with all the growth driven by Wizz Air. The low cost carrier will add 147.184 seats, marking an 89.7% increase year-on-year. However, excluding Wizz Air, the remaining scheduled airlines at Skopje Airport will collectively register a 9.4% decline in seat capacity. Pristina Airport will have 468.166 available seats, with capacity currently projected to decline 5.2%. It follows frequency cuts by GP Aviation, as well as the lack of Condor and SAS services, which operated last year.
Podgorica Airport will continue to feel the positive impact of its new Wizz Air base, with the airport registering a record 370.188 seats on scheduled flights during the month, up 47.7%. Wizz Air will be the largest carrier by adding 111.040 seats, representing growth of 196.8%, for a total capacity share of 45.2%. It is followed by Ryanair with 11.8% of the market. Sarajevo will have 363.238 scheduled seats in August, representing an increase of 0.5% on 2025. Ryanair is the largest carrier, with a market share of 13.6%. It is followed by Pegasus Airlines with 10.6% of total capacity.
Finally, Ljubljana has a total of 239.871 seats on scheduled services, up 20.9% on August 2025. Lufthansa, despite having 7.9% fewer flights, will have 28.4% more seats, retaining its position as the airport’s largest, holding 15.7% of capacity. It is followed by Turkish Airlines with a 10.9% share and Swiss with 8.7% of the market and its capacity up 77.3% year-on-year.
Largest carriers by scheduled seat capacity in the former Yugoslavia, August 2026
Overall scheduled seat capacity in August across all former Yugoslav markets and airports combined: 6.147.048, up 7.2% year-on-year
Please note that the above figures are correct as of the date of publication. As the month progresses, they may change due to schedule revisions or equipment adjustments. Nevertheless, they provide a reliable indication of overall capacity trends across the airports.
@Admin. Would you have figures also for Swiss, LOT and Air Baltic?
ReplyDeleteSwiss - 78.342 seats, up 21% Y-O-Y
DeleteLOT - 70.206, up 10.2%
airBaltic - 14.210, up 6%
Many thanks :)
DeleteSo LH Group is Nr. 4 with over 500K seats...
DeleteSwiss growth is impressive, do we know where it's coming from?
DeleteZRHLJU more flights plus ZRHRJK new flights
DeleteSkopje's growth is incredible, but it's also worrying that almost all of it comes from one airline
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see at what point Wizzair level off in Skopje. The cieling must be very nearly reached.
DeleteStrong growth in SKP because there a an empty space that Wizz filled.
DeleteProbably they have reached or are very near to the ceiling.
The market couldn't be extended indefinitely.
nope. if destinations are good it can rise more.
DeleteBut of course nothing like the level it has done. That will level off significantly going forward.
Deletethere is space for 2-3 more aircrafts easily
DeleteTime shall tell is such predictions come to pass.
Deletewell your 3.5m ceiling from last year happened to be untrue
DeleteWell if PRN underperforms then it makes sense for even more people from Kosovo and Metohija to fly from SKP.
DeleteNorth Macedonia does offer good ways to fly in/out nowadays.
DeleteCroatia Airlines keeps shrinking
ReplyDeleteHopefully the long term strategy works because short term the trend isn't encouraging.
Deletehaters gonna hate. OU will get on its feet soon and show all haters its true potential. The only problem is current management stalemate..
DeleteThere are very few 'haters'. Hating aspects infrastructure would be very sad now right? It would be wonderful to see OU get on its feet and that is something everyone who enjoys aviation wants. Those who 'hate' should neither comment on events, nor be interested in aviation which is about openness and mobility.
DeleteThe management "stalemate" has been ongoing for 30 years.
DeleteFYI Croatia Airlines will release its financial results for Q2 at the end of the week and they are terrible.
Bravo Hrvatska!
DeleteTheir management stalemate won't be fixed before major crisis. Why would anyone want to take the company now and the full blame!?
DeletePodgorica is probably the biggest success story this summer. The Wizz base has transformed the airport almost overnight.
ReplyDeleteClearly.
DeleteYes, well done MNE.
DeleteWe will see what happens from November when MNE introduces visas for Russians, Belorussians, Saudis and Turks. A lot of their O&D comes from those markets.
Deleteinterestingly they stil have less seats added in Aug. than SKP 144k vs 1110k
DeleteAnd China
DeleteOnce Wizz opens its base in Pristina this winter these numbers will look very different next year.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile imagine the winter numbers for Sarajevo without Ryanair.
DeleteSuch is the world of aviation.
Delete@9.15
DeleteSarajevo seems to have reached a plateau. The airport now needs network carriers and long term strategy rather.
You've been once or twice to Sarajevo after as tourist you will not return for years.....
Delete^ Can be said for all the capitals of the region...for most foreign tourists.
DeleteThat's why Belgrade is smart and is working on congress tourism. Only one to do so seriously.
DeleteTrue. Cos many a casual tourist only visits once.
DeleteSarajevo has only been getting serious tourism for a few years with official registered arrivals likely to be around 1M this year (and unofficial even higher).
DeleteThere's definitely a rising demand for visiting Bosnia even after the WC so LCCs can definitely be sustained, same as in North Macedonia.
The Bosnian governments (on different levels) only contributed with around a million euros for Sarajevo subsidies, now the figure should be way higher. If such an arrangement works for Skopje, Priština and some Romanian airports, why wouldn't it for Sarajevo, it has slightly less diaspora but slightly more money and a much larger tourism appeal.
Sarajevo and BiH has a great future in terms of tourism. At least something
DeleteYou live in an illusion if you think that Skopje, Prišrina and romanian airports are succesful because of some "arrangements". They Re succeaful because of demand.
Delete15:54 Don't be silly, they're successful because the governments dump million euros. Sarajevo has more tourists than Skopje and Priština together and no airport competition nearby
Delete"Dumps millions" this
DeleteSame rekla kazala level that was telling us for months that Ryanair will opwn a base
It's remarkable that Wizz Air alone now offers over one million seats across the region.
ReplyDeleteWell Wizzair have 41 aircraft based in Romania which has a similar or even slightly smaller population that exYU. So its actually rather modest in European terms.
DeletePeople keep forgetting how badly ex-yu is doing in aviation.
Delete'Bad' is relative. Because its developed and grown significantly since the dark days of the past. How many aircraft does 'the region' have operating this summer? Around 80-81? Perhaps Admin can give an exact figure including the wet-leases etc.
Deletebut Romania is part of the EU (working freedom) and needs no visas for the UK unlike 2/3 of ExYu
Delete@11:44 indeed. Which shows the room for increased aviation in the region as its population further declines over the coming decade. A grim geographical irony that the as the region's population shrinks mobility overall connectivity increases.
Delete@10:52 People keep forgetting how badly ex-yu is doing in aviation.
DeleteReally? Take for example Dresden, city of 1.3M in metro area, with airport below 900k passengers last year and none of 3 ULCCs operating. Number of airlines operating there and Dresden's connectivity is far below most of comparable Ex Yu areas.
You can pluck out cities and examples to your hearts delight. The region remains significantly behind other areas of europe on many levels. Including connectivity and not to mention internal infrastructure.
DeleteIf you did your homework, you would know it's not the infrastructure. Dresden has fairly modern terminal able to accommodate far greater number of passengers and it has rail link to the airport, which no Ex Yu airport has yet. It's the policy of supporting LH and feeding FRA and MUC. Many Ex Yu airports rejected feeder policies, resulting in far greater direct connectivity.
Delete@16:21 The infrastructure and connectivity of the ExYu region significantly lags other areas of Europe. Not at all sure why thought bring Dresden into the mix was needed.
DeleteIt was all clearly explained by @16:21. Example proves most of ExYu does not significantly lag some areas of Europe such as Dresden.It also demonstrates the policy, not the state of infrastructure, has far greater impact on connectivity.
Delete@19:06 What does this mean? 'Example proves most of ExYu does not significantly lag some areas of Europe such as Dresden' What on earth has one city in the former DDR got to do with the fact that the former Yugoslavia has a very long way to go in terms of infrastructure and improving mobility ? Your answer makes no sense, nor does the weird introduction of Dresden.
DeleteThrowing temper tantrums won't help you. Be a good sport, lose with grace.There is a difference between getting defeated and feeling defeated. Instead of dwelling upon what went wrong, try to focus your attention on what you can do right next time. Try to let go of what you cannot change and do your best to be respectful toward whomever or whatever has defeated you.
DeleteThe biggest surprise is Zagreb. Tourism is breaking records yet airport capacity is actually falling.
ReplyDeleteThat depends which numbers are you ready to believe
DeleteAnd it's August of all months.
Delete@9.34 what do you mean?
DeleteThey mean there are conflicting figures regarding hotel occupancy and tourist arrivals and also it also varies by month and by local.
DeleteHe means that the tourism is not breaking records at all.
DeleteThat’s just government PR. Real numbers you can read here
DeleteI don't think airport capacity is closely linked to tourist arrivals in the entire country.
DeleteZagreb numbers are always anomalous because Croatia Airlines flies half-empty planes so seat capacity is not a good statistic to look at because it can vary a lot but passenger numbers can stay the same.
DeleteI go to Croatia almost every weekend and to me at least, it feels far more quiet than previous years. Subdued even.
DeleteNational Bank of Croatia warned that tourism numbers are stagnating and they blamed high prices. They mentioned that HR is much more expensive than some other European markets.
DeleteLCCs remain the main growth engine in the Balkans. Without Wizz and Ryanair, most airports would be flat or even declining.
ReplyDeleteAs they are across Europe.
DeleteNot in Serbia. JU is adding 50% seats more than W6, although we are reading nonsenses by some experts for weeks now
DeleteSerbia is just one place in Europe. The contient wide trend is growth in LCCs mate.
DeleteAnd JU is a hybridation between a LCC and the remains of a Legacy Carrier but on any case far from big carriers like AF KL BA LH IB......
Delete@10:11 not a correct observation. JU is not a hybrid. It offers connecting flights, long haul flights and several classes of flight. Nobody would compare it with the carriers listed, so that has no meaning. But it operates as a 'full service airline' in today's European aviation market.
DeleteVueling offers connecting flights and just as many classes as air Serbia
DeleteSorry I meant Eurowings
Delete@10:55 the observation has no meaning tbh.
DeleteLjubljana is slowly rebuilding itself without relying on one dominant airline.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, but relying on LHG c is top of the top
DeletePlease explain how Ljubljana is relying on Lufthansa group when Turkish is the biggest airline and easyJet offers the highest single-route capacity at the airport
DeleteHow is Turkish the biggest airline when it is Lufthansa?
DeleteWhat did it say in the article? 17% for LH. That’s hardly ‘relying’ on it.
Delete#JustFraportHatersThing
DeleteAh yes, thats why there was not a big problem that LH went to seasonal flights with LJU flights from MUC. And LH aint LHG :)
DeleteThe combined market is growing nicely but most of the gains are concentrated at just a handful of airports. Growth isn't evenly distributed across the region.
ReplyDeleteWell it can hardly be expected to be.
DeleteBelgrade has both Air Serbia and Wizz growing simultaneously. That's a luxury very few airports in the region have. Crazy they want to end that.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Madness
DeleteStop spinning. Wizz is not growing at all. It still have 4 A321, as it was in 2023. Actually, it declined due to Abu Dhabi base closure.
DeleteWe are glad and happy to have their presence in Belgrade.
DeleteSure, as well as Ajet, EasyJet, Eurowings and Pegasus
DeleteMislim da će Ryanair u Sarajevu i zimi biti najveći prijevoznik :)
ReplyDeleteIt says a lot about the market or the lack of
DeleteOf course they won't, Pegasus will. The airport will still hit 2.15 million at the very least. First three months of 2026 will be tough if Wizz doesn't react, I don't doubt they will but it wont be 5-10 new lines like some here say.
DeleteLjubljana is slowly building a great portfolio of airlines. Not depending on a singular one makes it more resilient, at least something good.
ReplyDeletewhat is this some officall PR narative ?
DeleteIts pasted upon the wall in the backoffice there.
DeleteYes, it does sound rigid to read it. It is still behind Trieste, which is a provincial airport in Italy and its closest comparison. So nothing to really celebrate here.
DeleteProvincial can mean a whole load of things in the wider European picture...
DeleteThat is why people from Trieste drive to Venice to travel to any other destination other than the Ryanair holiday destinations.
DeleteAnd yet thats why there are 200 k people from Slovenia in TRS
Deleteto fly to this your Ryanair leisure destinations
DeleteThe biggest winner in the region isn't any airport it's Wizz Air. They are growing on the back of subsidies.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteBiggest winners are the passengers. At least ticket prices are going down when everything else is going up
Delete+1 although prices are not really 'going down' rather not growing as much as other things one might buy. But more competition and selection is very good for the region which suffers for hideously high prices. Its mad that food costs more in the Balkans than in London or Spain. But such is the nature of the beast.
DeleteW6 growth in BEG is wild
ReplyDeleteProbably because they offer the right product that serbian market needs.
DeleteProbably you should bother to read the article first, before writing foolishness. JU is growing wild, adding 50% more seats than W6. Actually, Air Serbia is offering right product for regional market. And W6 is not growing, but restoring their capacity grom 2023 and 2024, before they declined
DeleteThey both offer a good and complimentary product for the market. Long may both their operations grow and mature.
DeleteNo, W6 should be far more proactive at BEG. They have a lot more planes based at BUD, SOF, SKP or OTP. A lot more destinations could work, if they are only a bit smarter
DeleteSince you think you are smarter than them, propose at least 5-6 BEG destinations you think could work.
DeleteShould we expect the 8th Wizz plane in SKP soon? Any new routes in the talks, another destination in the UK and more destinations in Scandinavia and Spain?
ReplyDeleteNo, the 7th plane is also there just for 2 months.
DeleteOh I thought they based their for good, so its only for the summer season.
Delete@10:19 talks of another destination in the UK? Not a chance. Skopje only has flights to London 4 times a week (3 times a week during winter). So another UK airport would be extremely out of character for Wizzair. They only fly to London from both Sofia and Tirana so it doubt it highly that Skopje will see anything of the sort.
DeleteThe fly from Prishtina as well.
DeleteAnd soon to be Easyjet. Which makes it all the less likely for further growth UK to Macedonia/Kosovo for a long while.
DeleteIs there any new info for new routes people were talking about from LJU some weeks ago?
ReplyDeleteWell Berlin will come sooner or later :D
DeleteI think that people have been saying that for the past two years..
DeleteI just got an email saying I was rebooked to Lufthansa City Airlines for my flight to Munich. It's even under their flight number!
DeleteYes there is Lufthansa City Airlines but it is not CityLine which has been closed. When are you travelling?
DeleteFirst Wednesday in September, 6th i think
DeleteCould we see VL fly to Ljubljana in the winter?
DeleteFlight number seem to be: VL1696/7
Deleteso there is a chance for SKP to break the 400k pax in one month?
ReplyDeleteYes very big chance
Deletewould anyone please have British Airways figures.. LHR to LHU and ZAG ( i think more to LJU?l, DBV and SPU...SPU from x 3 London airports. thanks
ReplyDeleteLook on UK CAA.
DeleteSkopje is coming close to 500k in a single month this is massive achievement!!! Great job and keep the good work👏✈️
ReplyDeleteOne of the interesting things for the aviation market in North Macedonia is the room for growth of the inbound tourist sector. The country is among the least visited in Europe which means there is significant growth potential which leaves significant growth for the future outside of the O&D markets and outbound tourism which has fuelled so much growth so far.
Deletehttps://www.timeout.com/news/the-european-countries-with-the-fewest-tourists-revealed-020226
OHD need much more connections to Europe hubs to bring the European tourists.
Delete