Wizz Air is expected to establish a base at Ohrid Airport, according to Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport, Aleksandar Nikoloski. The development would see an aircraft stationed in Ohrid and is expected to result in the launch of new routes. Wizz Air has not commented on the matter. Speaking last week, Mr Nikoloski said Macedonia’s strong passenger growth was being driven by the introduction of new routes and increased airline capacity. He noted that Wizz Air now has seven aircraft stationed at its Skopje base, adding that one aircraft is expected to be stationed in Ohrid, while new destinations are anticipated within the upcoming winter schedule. Back in May, the Minister said Wizz Air was considering the possibility of establishing a base at Ohrid.
Wizz Air has been present in Ohrid for more than a decade. It launched operations at the airport in June 2015 with seasonal flights from London Luton, followed by year-round services from Basel the following month. The two routes had an immediate impact on Ohrid’s traffic, with the carrier handling around 60.000 passengers at the airport during its first year of operations and helping passenger numbers grow 54% to a then-record 107.916. Its network has since expanded and changed considerably, with Wizz developing both inbound leisure and visiting-friends-and-relatives traffic. Earlier this year, the airline’s Network Officer East, Andras Szabo, told EX-YU Aviation News, “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”.
Wizz Air significantly increased its Ohrid operations this summer, adding flights from Milan Malpensa, Wroclaw and Katowice, while Bratislava replaced its former Vienna service. Together with existing operations, the additions brought the airline’s network from the city to seven routes. However, the carrier has since made several adjustments, with Milan to conclude on September 12 and Bratislava to end with the conclusion of the summer season in October. The potential stationing of an aircraft in Ohrid would enable Wizz Air to structure operations differently, including early morning departures from the city, and would provide scope for additional destinations and frequencies.
The development comes as Ohrid Airport undergoes its most extensive overhaul in decades. Operator TAV Macedonia is investing 2.7 million euros in the reconstruction and expansion project, which is expected to increase the terminal’s operational capacity by between 30% and 40%. The check-in area is being expanded from six to eight counters, while additional space is being provided for security screening, departure gates and baggage reclaim. The administrative building is also being enlarged from 290 to 746 square metres, allowing offices currently located within the terminal to be relocated and freeing up additional space for passenger handling. Works are expected to be finalised by the end of summer.
Ohrid Airport is already recording strong growth this year. During the first seven months of the year, the airport welcomed 175.182 travellers, representing an increase of 24.2%. July also saw the airport register its busiest day on record in terms of passenger numbers.
Bravo Wizz!!
ReplyDeleteIts not official yet. Dont jump the gun.
DeleteYes. Well done Wizz.
DeleteGreat job W6 stationing aicraft in OHD is amazing.
DeleteWell the work that they have done all over the region in the last few years is more than just bravo
DeleteAnd they will keep doing the good job in the region in future
Delete@17:45 sound like their PR department lol
DeleteWhat is not true in the written above 18:19 ?? Explain
DeleteWizz is desperate. Obviously they have too many planes with too few airports to base them
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteIts not desperation, rather business. If they can make money they can and should. If they cannot they'll pack up and leave. Simple as that.
DeleteBut they can’t in Ohrid. As they can’t in Tuzla. But they keep desperately trying to
DeleteWell they are a business with shareholders, if they can they can, if they can't they cant. As passengers we should be happy at increased opportunities for movement. The shareholders can worry if it works or not.
DeleteOhrid and Tuzla are different markets. Tuzla is bigger city and more gasto airport. Ohrid is smaller city but has the lake and its tourists. Especially during the summer seasonnthe city is full with touritst.So there will be summer routes and few year round. For city with 50k people stationed aircraft is great newa
DeleteOhrid also serves large areas of Albania.
DeleteOf course someone from Albania close to the border its easier and more convinient to use OHD than going to TIR
DeleteI wonder how TK and OS operations are doing
ReplyDeleteOverbooked every flight
DeleteLol sure
DeleteRubbish
Deletehuh @9.23 is provoking again ...
DeleteSee what planes they are using since Lufti left and you will understand how especially OU is doing. OU has not send A321 sincd Lufti enter the country. Now almost every 2 or 3th flight is with A321. Anyway we will see results in the end
DeleteOS is actually sold out on every flight this month to VIE. Sometimes there are overbooked passengers, same with LO and JU while OU is not totally full.
DeleteDo OU fly to Ohrid?
DeleteOU do not fly to OHD and do not have A321, what is it today with all this rubbish being published.
DeleteMy mistake instead OS I wrote OU I just notice
DeleteSuch a big airlines as TK and OS serving OHD is just amazing , plus JU as well which is 3th flag carrrier at the airport. And one of the biggest low cost carrier in Europe adding aircraft at the airport just tells us there is demand and great future ahead👏
DeleteThe third biggest LCC in Europe has not, as of yet, announced a base there. So lets just moderate expectations. But yeah its nice to see the airport grow.
DeleteThats why I said one of the biggest low cost airline. They have talks behind the public doors in the last couple of months , and this is one of the idea they are talking to. So lets see what the time will bring
DeleteWhy do Balkan politicians think they can announce new routes/bases. Just let an airline state the truth, not some delusional man in a suit trying to justify his job
DeleteIts a common issue yeah
Deletebecause all he does is press conferences
DeleteFingers crossed for Paris 🤞🏻
ReplyDeleteI am not surpriced at all. I think I have suggested that idea several years ago. Great move and great for OHD.
ReplyDeleteThey heard you!
DeleteThank God he suggested it!
DeleteLol
DeleteYes they heard him and great job for OHD amazing achievement!
DeleteOhrid - Dubrovnik in the summer time. Would that be a hit?
DeleteNo, worse than SPU-SKP
Delete@17:13 you are actually joking right? It would be hard to think of a less workable route than that. Why not Ohrid - Skopje, Ohrid - Tirana, Ohrid - Ioannina...get real guys.
DeleteOhrid need intra Europe cities connection not regional. JU is already doing great job and its enough
Delete@11.19 SKP-SPU would be a hit if it will be operated by Wizz
Delete18:14 of course cheaper tickets affordable for anyone
Delete@11:19 although it wouldn't make Wizz air sufficient money and is a very unlikely route as things stand.
Deletenext routes of Wizz from SKP are Copenhagen, Nice, maybe Bremen and Turin again, Valencia, Malaga… I dont think that there are manu gastro routes left to be served, where are they gonna fly to Vaxjo, Saarbrucken, Weeze and Munster next?
DeleteThe topic is Ohrid.
Deletewith the success of LJU and PRG I would say another capital in ex-EastEurope is imminent and way more realistic than any spanish route.
Deletefor Ohrid i see Malmö
'ex-EastEurope' love it.
DeleteThis would be a huge development for Ohrid. Having even one based aircraft completely changes what Wizz can do there.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat
DeleteI’ll believe it when Wizz announces it. Politicians have announced many routes and bases over the years that never happened.
ReplyDeleteExactly
DeleteVery soon my friend🫡
DeleteOne aircraft could easily support 5–7 routes if they structure the schedule properly. Very interesting to see which markets they would target.
ReplyDeleteOr they can use it for existing routes and a limited expansion.
DeleteCould be one aicraft during whole year and 1 more during summer months. This csn easily brings existing routes for growing , new routes especially summer time. Would be good to see more German,Polish, UK, France routes and other EU cities
DeleteThis is actually quite logical. Skopje is becoming a very large Wizz operation and Ohrid gives them another market without putting even more capacity into SKP.
ReplyDeletemakes no sense
Deletewhy should they not put more capacity if its working for them
DeleteThis doesnt have anything with SKP operations. They are constantly growing SKP. OHD is different story that they try to expand as well
DeleteIm sorry but Lignja is talking rubbish again ....
ReplyDelete"Wizz Air has not commented on the matter." Thats true but Kurt (SKP's CEO ) has commented on the topic and he said no (recent interview with Newsmax Balkans TV)
on a positive note: Wizz has scheduled KTW and WRO for next summer already (package deals via polish agencies as well). Correndon is rumoured to return with a 3x weekly from AMS from middle of June
Wizz hasnt confirmed this yet , but same as Kurt they said they have planes to do this , they didnt unveil which year but there is talks for this to happend.
DeleteProbably 2027-2028 we can expect this to happend
DeleteThe second least suitable airport of Ex-Yu to establish a year round base in (after Tivat).
ReplyDeleteexplain or are you trolling
Deleteasking for Sarajevo, Mostar, Rijeka, Kraljevo ...
What is there to explain? Wizz can't land after/before daylight if there is a southern(ly) wind. That's each and every one of your flights arriving at the end of the day (or even the last two arrivals of a based aircraft in the winter season when it gets dark early). If that happens the base is sc..wd for days because of the domino effect. Or cancellations happen.
Deletewizz and Edeleeiss have curre tly flights in the dark
DeleteWhich can land from the south but if the wind direction is not good then they don't land.
Delete@18:14 Although i have no experience of that airport and its operations, i would assume that Wizzair have done significant due diligence regarding the airport. However as people have stated. NOTHING has been announced.
DeleteYes, Wizz Air is known for their airport due diligences. Like they did with KFZ in Albania, where 1 in 2 flights would end up diverted.
DeleteExactly. But hey, the chinese gift airport of the albanian politicians needed some traffic, and the due diligence of Wizz is a tickmark in the "money received" box.
DeleteI wonder whether Budapest-Ohrid could work. Not necessarily for local traffic, but it could attract tourists from Hungary.
ReplyDeleteNo , SKP already covers the demand so it will be very hard for both airports to have the same route. OHD has different demand and needs than SKP
DeleteThe airport renovation suddenly makes much more sense if a base could potentially come.
ReplyDeleterenovation made sense in general (and not suddenly) if you have ever used that airport
DeleteAlways after renovation potential for new routes and airlines is becoming real and more expected.
DeleteUsually airlines are very sensitive about politicians revealing commercial plans early.
ReplyDeleteHave you met Balkan politicians?
DeleteLol good one.
DeleteThis is probably already talked and deal , so there is no backpain if he reveals anytning. Plus Kurt has mentioned the same few weeks ago in a short interview , he just didnt reveal when this will happend but that there are talks and big plans for this idea. Firs who reveal this is Kurt not the minister
Deletethe big question is will Wizz announce new flights to SKP?
ReplyDeleteTodays topic is Ohrid.
DeleteYes probably after summer they will for both SKP and OHD
DeleteSaid with huge confidence.
DeleteYou will see very soon , just follow the news :))
DeleteI don't see that happening tbh. It would be nice though.
ReplyDeletehalf year routes: Malmö, Charleroi and peak time summer routes: Luton, Warsaw, Berlin, Zagreb/Ljubljana, Sofia
ReplyDeleteOnce they cancelled Bratislava the first thing I thought was that they'd probably establish a base in Ohrid.
ReplyDeleteThere is a solid passenger demand for Vienna/Bratislava area so I don't think they'd easily abandon these routes.
its not cancelled
DeletePlus Austrian is serving Vienna this summer as well
DeleteIt would be cancelled in October.
Deleteits turned into seasonal
DeleteI am quite sure OHD can attract some prolonged seasonal routes (April till November) from Scandinavia (Malmo) which was cancelled years ago, UK (London), Italy, Poland and maybe some 1-2 additional German cities.
ReplyDeleteDuring the winter the OHD based aircraft can take over destinations which are operated now with other based aircraft and additionally make some rotations to SKP. At the moment SKP based aircraft are not operating routes to OHD.
OHD have huge potential with true selected routes during the whole year. There is space for operations even after the summer. Needs good selected routes and good schedule. Especially routes to Germany,UK,France, Turkey
DeleteWe should not forget The Netherlands and Slovenia although I am not sure about year round flights to these markets.
DeleteAdditionally SPU or some other Croatian route would make a lot of sense for tourists and diaspora kids from US and Australia who want to visit Croatia along with the homeland of their ancestors.
@18:20 very wishful thinking. Not gonna happen.
DeleteWith a nice plan and good selected markets as I said above there is always potential. Considering Ohrid is cheaper place to visit and stay yes there is always room for new routes
DeleteDemand doesn't always equal profitability however. Split to Ohrid is neither.
DeleteYes but without demand no real reason anyone to start a route. The profit comes from both demand and sales power of the route. OHD needs intra Europe routes to bring wealthy guests who can support ticket prices
DeleteGreat job for OHD and hopefully they will get aircraft stationed there in the close future. Turkish guest are N0.1 every year in Ohrid , and except seasonal TK flights would be great Ajet,Pegasus to add SAW and why not for whole year I am sure it will work great. Also the airport missing Israel flights as they were very popular before the Covid19.
ReplyDeletePristina, Skopje. Ohrid...
ReplyDeleteIt seems that every 100 km apart you have a Wizz base.
And Macedonians and Kosovars barely touch the ground because they spend most of their time in an aircraft or at the airport.
How do you mean lol?
DeleteSKP & PRN together should be sustainable. They have bases in every Romanian village so hey...
DeleteMany of those 'villages' are either or wealtheir than the villages in part of the EXyu space. Moderate your silly views.
DeleteThis will be a nice move if/when it materialise. I am happy to read for every single addition or increase on EVERY ex-yu airport. What surprise me most is the envy, downscalling and sarcasm of some individuals here in this forum. Why all the bad/sarcastic comments? Has OHD or the likes not deserving to expand or have a highlights in their path? Is only BEG,ZAG, PRN,TIA or similar reserved to have new routes introduced? It seems that you get orgasm if this happens to them, right? This is an ex-yu aviation forum as I understand, so there should be enought place under the sun for every airport and airline willing to fly and develop their business and not only BEG and AS. I wish OHD best of luck and many more routes and passengers. At the time of Yugoslavia it was during the summer one of the most profitable airports for JAT in terms of sales especially for Australia and USA diaspora. It even had a Toronto-Ohrid-Belgrade B-707 flights. Jat, Adria, Aviogenex, Trasavia and Air Holland were regular visitors back then.
ReplyDelete+1
Deleteits only a few individuals that are active on every article in a similar cynical way
True. Also a few fanatical fanboys bring the level of debate down.
Deleteinteresting post especially the last bit re Australia and US transfers for JAT. There was an article here recently about OHD being an important transfer market for TK for both their MEL and SYD routes
Delete@ 02:12
Delete+1
*Has OHD....=Is OHD and the likes...
ReplyDelete* Transavia = Transavia
* and by the way it is a 24 hrs aerodrome, so contrary to some statements there are planes landing and taking off at OHD at night throughout the year.
ReplyDeleteIf the wind is blowing from the north. Otherwise they don't.
Delete