Trip Report
Every summer I travel to Kosovo to visit my family. Over the years, my preferred option has almost always been Wizz Air from Paris Beauvais, with the exception of one journey on Lufthansa. Air Serbia usually offers the most convenient schedule from Paris, but its fares are often considerably higher.
When easyJet launched flights between Paris Orly and Skopje in April 2025, I immediately knew this would become my preferred route. Unfortunately, the airline has already announced that the service will be discontinued in October 2026, which is a real shame. Orly is much easier to reach from central Paris than Beauvais, making the journey significantly more convenient.
My one-way ticket for flight U24909 on Saturday, 25 July 2026, cost €80.65 and was booked on 7 March 2026. The flight was operated by Airbus A320-214 OE-IVQ. I was seated in 11F and the scheduled block time was 2 hours and 40 minutes.
The trip almost started with an unexpected complication. My family and I had planned to reach Orly using Metro Line 14, but upon arriving at Châtelet station we discovered that services had been suspended because of an electrical failure. We therefore ordered an Uber, which cost only €24.79 for the four of us. Although the journey took around 43 minutes instead of the usual 20 minutes by metro, we still arrived at Orly Terminal 1 in good time.
We checked in and dropped off our suitcase at counter 16 in Terminal 1. Interestingly, although check-in takes place in Terminal 1, easyJet's flights to Skopje depart from Terminal 3, using the D gates reserved for non-Schengen destinations.
At the check-in desk I encountered something that had never happened to me before. The easyJet agent asked me to provide proof that I would leave North Macedonia within three months. Without such proof, I would not have been allowed to board the flight. Having travelled to Skopje many times with Wizz Air, Lufthansa and other airlines, I had never previously been asked for this document.
Fortunately, I already had a Wizz Air booking from Belgrade back to Paris on 19 August 2026, so I was able to present the confirmation immediately. According to the easyJet staff, this requirement comes from the North Macedonian border authorities and applies to foreign passport holders. I still wonder whether passengers travelling with cabin baggage only are subject to the same checks, as they usually bypass the check-in desks altogether.
The airport itself was extremely busy. Passing through security, passport control and reaching the departure gate took approximately 35 minutes. Boarding was scheduled from gate D18, while the neighbouring gate D20 was used for a Transavia flight to Tirana. The D gates in Terminal 3 are dedicated to non-Schengen flights operated mainly by easyJet and Transavia, while Terminal 4 also handles non-Schengen services by airlines such as French Bee, Royal Air Maroc, Tunisair and Air Caraïbes.
Boarding eventually started at around 15:45, slightly behind schedule. We boarded through the aircraft's forward door.
Parked next to us at gate D18 was Transavia Boeing 737-800 F-GZHP, which was preparing to depart for Podgorica. Seeing three former Yugoslav destinations - Skopje, Tirana and Podgorica - departing from adjacent gates was an interesting sight.
Although it had been quite some time since my last easyJet flight, I was pleasantly surprised by the cabin. My seat, 11F, offered noticeably more legroom than I usually experience on Wizz Air or Ryanair.
The aircraft was clean despite already operating a busy rotation that day: Paris Orly - Nice, Nice - Paris Orly, Paris Orly - Milan Linate, Milan Linate - Paris Orly, before continuing to Skopje and later returning to Paris.
The cabin crew were French and all announcements - including the safety demonstration - were made in French, English and Macedonian, a nice touch for this route. The flight appeared to be very well occupied, although I could not accurately estimate the load factor.
Pushback took place at approximately 16:45, with take-off following at 16:52 instead of the scheduled 15:40 departure.
Once airborne, the flight was remarkably smooth from beginning to end. Weather conditions were excellent, with clear skies throughout the journey.
From my window seat on the right-hand side, the views were spectacular. After leaving France we crossed Switzerland before flying over northern Italy near Venice. The route then continued along Croatia's Adriatic coast, offering beautiful views of Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik, before passing over Montenegro near Tivat. We then crossed Albania before turning east towards North Macedonia. Our descent began over Mavrovo National Park, providing stunning mountain scenery before our final approach into Skopje.
Although I did not purchase anything from the onboard menu, the crew carried out the buy-on-board service efficiently before preparing the cabin for arrival.
The actual flight time was only 2 hours and 18 minutes, significantly shorter than the scheduled block time.
According to Flightradar24, we landed at 19:10 local time and taxied towards stand 202.
A Wizz Air flight to Gothenburg had just departed from the same gate, meaning we had to wait a few minutes until the stand became available. Once parked, passengers disembarked through both doors: those seated at the front used the jet bridge, while passengers in the rear exited directly onto the apron.
Passport control was completed within only a few minutes, and baggage delivery was equally efficient, allowing us to leave the airport quickly.
Overall, this was an excellent flight. Despite the delayed departure from Paris, the short flight time meant the delay was partially recovered en route. The aircraft was clean, the cabin crew were friendly and professional, and I found the legroom to be noticeably better than on other European low-cost airlines.
For passengers travelling between Paris and North Macedonia - or, like me, continuing onwards to Kosovo - the Orly service is a very attractive alternative to Beauvais thanks to its much more convenient location. It is therefore disappointing that easyJet plans to discontinue the route in October 2026. I sincerely hope another airline will eventually fill the gap, as this service has clear value for both leisure travellers and the large Balkan diaspora living in the Paris region.
Thank you for reading, and I look forward to sharing my next trip report covering my Wizz Air flight from Belgrade back to Paris later this summer.
Share your travel experience by submitting a trip report to exyu@exyuaviation.com
I do not recall Tirana ever being an ex Yu destination! :O
ReplyDeleteIt almost was during late 1947 🫣🤗 great report. Thanks for this.
Deletethx for the report
ReplyDeleteshame there will be no ORY after Oct
Is it possible some other airline to take over after October ?
DeleteNo.
DeleteThanks Nikola. Great report, well written.
ReplyDeleteEasyjet are a very solid operation. It is a pity the route is being cancelled. But i'm sure one day they'll give it a try again.
Interesting regarding the question at check-in. I normally find entering North Macedonia one of the least intensive frontiers. Seems like the kind of thing they 'can' ask and perhaps the check in agent was being trained or new and was doing high due diligence.
ReplyDeleteHello ! Thank you for your comment on my report. My sister flew the exact same flight with easyjet from ORY on July 1st and was also asked to give a proof she is leaving N. Macedonia within three months. What is also interesting is that she was travelling with her kids and only her had a checked luggage, as her kids didn’t, the agent didn’t ask a proof her kids leave Macedonia in the next three months. This is very weird.
Deletehe also confirmed that entering country was a breeze
DeleteInteresting. Given than many many people use airports in the region for onward travel by private car of bus such questions must get many people in a bit of bother, especially backpackers and those who don't know when they'll be leaving a particular country. I know that entering Schengen without proof of exit or clear onward plans can be an issue, but given North Macedonia's excellent location for onwards regional travel it seems a rather strange thing to ask at check-in.
DeleteGreat report mate.
At any airport you can it is normal authorities to ask you the purpose of traveling , when you go out , proof of other flight and etc.. it is nothing weird. Thats just a normal questions and check. If Macedonia is not in schengen doesnt mean there not suppost to be any enter checks :D
DeleteThat is in theory correct. Although extremely uncommon, especially at the check-in desk for a location that TIMATIC would flag as no visa required. Maybe North Macedonia requested that be increasingly done, however i suspect it was something to do with Orly Airport which makes it unusual.
DeleteLooks to me like somebody at the check in counter is new to TIMATiC and reads stuff like "90 days" and "without return ticket could be refused" and sees you have only a oneway ticket....
DeleteHave gone through SKP border control last month and as always was smooth and fast.
I agree. Thats very likely the issue.
DeleteThanks for the detailed report. easyJet looks like a great option for flying from Paris to ex yu region. Orly looks far better as it was before Covid when I last time traveled from there. You noticed correct, Air Serbia went crazy this year with prices to CDG
ReplyDeleteThink it's only Air Serbia? Recent CNBC headline from the US: Airline ticket prices are up 25%, outpacing inflation
DeleteNot following US market, but haven't seen ha Wizz or easy drastically increased fares to Paris as Air Serbia did
DeleteBecause not many people want to fly to the town of Beauvais when they want to go to Paris.
DeleteWell many people do it if they must.
DeleteNot enough to significantly raise the fare although Belgrade-Beauvais is rather expensive for a low cost airline with fares often over 200 euros return.
DeleteNot just the US but the whole world is affected in case you haven't heard. EU lowcosters generally did hedge fuel but it's more than five months into the conflict without end in sight and impact of hedging will start to wear out.
DeleteLovely report, thank you for taking the time.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of prices, I’ve noticed that the AF/KL/JU combination seems to be very popular for connections to the Americas. Everyone I know who has travelled there this year has booked an option via either Paris or Amsterdam.
This may leave a limited number of seats for point-to-point passengers, which could push prices up. I was also surprised that LH/LX/TK, or even LO, did not appear to be stronger contenders.
This site used to occasionally publish rank (and possibly passenger numbers?) of long-haul transfer airlines. From Belgrade to North America, StarAlliance airlines are far ahead of AF/KL.
Delete"Everyone I know" category doesn't have any relevance on real numbers. For example, (almost) everyone I know flew non-stop with Air Serbia this summer, but that's not statistically relevant sample.
Anecdotes are almost never statistically relevant but that is what makes the world what it is so i wouldn't worry yourself on it.
DeleteIs the demand and LF that bad , so they are discontinue service to Skopje just after a year of service ?? ORY is great airport I have been there last year , the most convienient airport for visiting Paris as well good option for Europe transfer flights.
ReplyDeleteIt might not even be that the demand or LF is particularly low, rather they can make more money on another route and therefore reallocate capacity accordingly. Airlines must go for the greatest returns after all.
DeleteSo is that why Transavia left as well , I assume this and AMS routes were good in terms of demand and LF , but as you saying the reason is probably different. Its all about they can serve probably much more expensive market and routes than Macedonia. It is very sad to see SKP will not have any flights to Paris,Amsterdam,Frankfurt after this
DeleteWell Paris remains served via Beauvais and Amsterdam via Eindhoven which provides access to a very large part of the Netherlands. From slot restricted or very expensive hubs Skopje will always be relatively low-hanging fruit in comparison to high frequency or premium markets. Hopefully that changes with increased numbers of inbound tourism going forward.
DeleteYes true but Beauvais and Eindhoven will never be the same as the main hubs right... Skopje deserve at least flights to ORY and AMS , FRA , MUC , if not year round but seasonal. Skopje have just few hubs which are okay ,but definitely need couple more. Hopefully with number increasing more hubs will be connected in future
DeleteWell deserve and 'quality for' are not the same thing. If there is no economic case for airlines to fly the route they will not. Simple as at. Airlines are not charities and links are formed when there is a sufficient economic case in relation to other possible routes with the same equipment. The reality is the market is small from a European perspective, and point to point connectivity from the airport has never been better.
DeleteGiven trends in aviation and the general increase in tourism and levels of income its highly probably that one day the airport will be linked to bigger European hubs. But from a passenger perspective its never been better.
Great read
ReplyDelete