Ryanair is discontinuing seven routes across the former Yugoslavia as it reshapes its network for the 2027 summer season. The cuts affect airports in Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, with several coming against the backdrop of wider reductions at its bases across Europe. However, the low cost carrier continues to expand elsewhere in the region, with a new service between Friedrichshafen and Zadar announced yesterday.
The airline will no longer connect Berlin with Dubrovnik or Podgorica. The development coincides with a substantial scaling back of its presence in the German capital following the closure of its seven-aircraft base this month. Ryanair expects its Berlin traffic to halve in 2027, citing high airport charges and German aviation taxes. The Dubrovnik service was introduced in April 2024 as part of the expansion accompanying the opening of Ryanair’s base in the coastal city, initially operating twice per week. The Podgorica route has a considerably longer history, having launched on September 4, 2016, with two weekly flights to Berlin’s former Schonefeld Airport. Elsewhere in Croatia, Ryanair is discontinuing Rijeka - Charleroi, which was restored in March 2022 with two weekly rotations.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the seasonal Sarajevo - Thessaloniki service will not return. Launched on July 3, 2024, with two weekly rotations, its removal follows Ryanair’s closure of its three-aircraft Thessaloniki base this winter. The carrier attributed that decision to airport charges, announcing a 60% winter capacity reduction at the Greek airport. Despite the discontinuation, Ryanair plans to expand in Sarajevo this summer and is expected to announce several new routes from the city soon.
In Niš, Ryanair had already signalled that it did not expect to return during summer 2027, although it had left some room open for a resumption. Its continued absence has now been confirmed, with services to Corfu, Malta and Vienna discontinued. The airline withdrew from the Serbian market last week, citing fuel regulatory issues affecting Niš Airport. Malta had been served since November 2019, initially twice weekly throughout the year, while Vienna joined the network in July 2021 at the same frequency. Corfu formed part of the carrier’s seasonal leisure offering.
Alongside the reductions, Ryanair will add a new link to its Zadar network. Flights from the Croatian city to Friedrichshafen are scheduled to commence on May 3, 2027, operating twice per week, on Mondays and Fridays. Further flight details are available here. It complements the previously announced Warsaw Modlin - Dubrovnik route, launching March 29, 2027, which is so far the only other new service that Europe's largest airline has scheduled in the region for next year.
Official:
ReplyDelete“Ryanair confirmed its Austrian winter 2026 flight schedule on Wednesday, withdrawing four aircraft from Vienna, cutting 12 routes and putting around 80 jobs at risk. The airline attributes the decision to Austria's 12-euro air travel tax and rising charges from both Vienna Airport and air traffic control. Austrian air navigation charges have risen 60 percent since the pandemic, and Vienna Airport fees have gone up 30 percent, according to Ryanair. The ten routes being cut are Copenhagen, Marseille, Tel Aviv, Dubrovnik, Niš, Salerno, Seville, Warsaw, Lanzarote and Riga.”
FR made cuts likely where the yield and LF were weakest. We know the profile of travelers from INI, as well as that immense desire to pay a maximum of 20€ for a ticket.
When you offer a 20 euro service, it is dumb to pay 100 just because
DeleteAustria knows how to protect it's flag carrier.
Delete@09:47 So, you clever folks plan to fill up a plane with just €20 and expect the airline to keep serving you?
DeleteI used FR only 3 times, and the ticket was never 20 euros. I use other companies and I am OK with it. profitability and sustainability of ryan is not on the list of my issues
DeleteGood for you mate. Well done.
Deletecheers! means a lot coming from you
DeleteAustrians are special.
DeletePity about Sarajevo-Thessaloniki. Does this mean flights to Greece anymore?
ReplyDeleteYes
DeleteTime for YU to jump in with more daily flights to SJJ and offer connections to Greek
DeleteTheir code is JU not YU.
DeleteYeah YU is a Portugese carrier
DeleteOnly charters to Athens in summer months. There have been rumors that Aegean was about to apply to the current subsidy tender, we'll see.
DeleteAnd Aegean raised its fleet in SKG to 10 aircraft this summer including Airbus321Neo, 320s and Atr-72-600. Adding a second flight to the regular daily on some weekdays on routes like Stuttgart or Düsseldorf.
DeleteSame old ULCC. Today they are, tomorrow they don't. Useless and ruthless profit seekers, always caring about themselves only. Hopefully they will disappear one day.
ReplyDeleteAnd are they supposed to seek profit for you?
DeleteIt's called good business
DeleteDude you need a reality check!
DeleteLCC are the future for non long haul flights.
Travelers decided that.
Mind you, in most cases, they are no longer cheap at all
DeleteThat future is in the backseat for 30 years now. Doesn’t seems as a future at all
DeleteWe now live in system called capitalism, good morning. The biggest problem in my opinion is flying with them can be less reliable in view of more unexpected cancellations. But they are still often cheaper (true is, not so much anymore) than legacy carrier.
Delete@09:06 So you would like airlines that do not seek profits and do not care about their bottom lines? May i suggest Air Koryo for your next trip.
Delete@09:47 very correct. Some people seem to forget they are the largest and most successful airline in Europe. They know what they are doing and will outlast all the bit players in the region, thats for sure.
DeleteWhy the need to outlast anyone? They can all survive as they have been surviving.
Delete^ The history of aviation tells that that does not occur. Remember Sky Europe? Malev, Zoom, Blue Air, Flybe. Ryanair sure does.
DeleteIt is impossible to have plane fares on the same level (or even cheaper) than for instance train or bus fares without some insane cost control and cutting edges (borderline illegal) plus extortion tactics...all of that is slowly coming to an end.
DeleteAh! Back to the 90s it is.
DeleteOU do not seek profits. But most readers here will pay their bills.
DeleteThey fly cheap and post profit, while extorting governments, airports, touristic organisations and other benefactors. That's not long lasting business model, of course. Doesn't comply with capitalism mentioned above.
DeleteOh yes it does mate
DeleteIt’s the governments who seem to be doing all of the extorting.
DeleteAirport charges are always Ryanair’s explanation. ...
ReplyDeleteNot in INI.
DeleteBut YES from VIE.
Deleteand what should they complain in INI, the 3€ fee?
DeleteThey are a private owned business focused on costs, what should they look into and talk about if not airport taxes? They can't influence fuel prices...
DeleteA base closure can kill a route even when there are plenty of passengers using it.
ReplyDeleteAt least Sarajevo has more routes coming. Overall network could still end up stronger next summer.
ReplyDeleteIf Sarajevo is getting several new routes, I hope the announcements come soon. People are already making plans for next summer.
DeleteI'm surprised SKG didn't work out
DeleteYou’re surprised because the company has withdrawn all routes from Thessaloniki. You simply missed that.
DeleteIt has not wothdrawn all routes from Thessaloniki. Atop writing nonsense.
Delete@09:45 As of Next summer Ryanair fly from Thessaloniki to Bucharest, Vienna, Brussels Zuid, Phaops, Copenhagen, Beauvais, Berlin, Weeze, Hahn, Baden Baden, Memmingem, Nuremburg, Chania, Heraklio, Budapest, Dublin, Bologna, Bergamo, Naples, Rome, Venice, Malta, Eidnhoven (July '27), Krakow, Warsaw Modlin, Poznan, Bratislava and London Stansted.
DeleteMany of these flights operate over winter too.
So perhaps to revise your comment?
Ryanair is closing its Thessaloniki base. They don't have a Sarajevo base either. That's why the route is closing.
DeleteSo how come they are still adding routes from Germany, like Zadar, if they are complaining about Germany's aviation tax?
ReplyDeleteRyanair being Ryanair
DeleteAnd thank godness for them!
DeleteI think Wizz Air will oust Ryanair from Podgorica.
ReplyDeleteWe don’t need such trash. Having them drive away our legacy carriers, only to then hold the airport to ransom - absolutely not!
ReplyDeleteWhat a foolish comment mate.
DeleteWhy? Ryanair isn't getting new aircraft, instead, they deploy them where current earnings are higher and, in the process, they pressure airports. Right?
Delete'We don’t need such trash' Do you have them in your local airport?
DeleteI did. They even had 5 aircraft based there, yet they failed to blackmail the airport.
DeleteGood for you as a consumer I'm sure..
DeleteThat’s right. For the record, I’ve flown with Ryanair a total of 3 times, the last time being 5 years ago. That’s enough to see what absolute trash they are. Thank God I’m capable enough that I don’t have to rely on finding a cheap ticket with that airline just to be able to travel.
DeleteComment of the day
DeleteThose idiots asked EASA to transfer passengers standing, without seats in the plane. EASA couldn't believe about this request and rejected them automatically. That's more than enough about them...
DeleteWell, I flew standing on two JAT flights, DBV - BEG (737) in 1990 and BEG - TIV (727) in 1992.
DeleteThey were sepcial times lol. @14:19 dont fly them and save us who do your dull views.
DeleteI’m more interested in how much capacity Ryanair will have in the region overall. Seven closures sound bad, but frequencies on the remaining routes also matter.
ReplyDeleteFor Rijeka, keeping a modest network operating consistently would be an achievement in itself. Every lost route makes the airport less useful and gives people another reason to look elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteMaybe OU could jump in?
DeleteOh that's a low shot sir..:-)
Delete09.23
DeleteRJK can't "keep modest network operating constantly" because it doesn't have network at all, and especially not operating constantly. Most of the flights in its "modest" network operate over peak 3-4 summer months. 8-9 months outside peak summer season, the airport is totally deserted and most of the days there are ZERO scheduled flights, except miserable and useless 30 seater PSO on two days of the week
Probably due to weak demand
DeleteAnd here we keep on reading how the Western economies do well. Strange...
ReplyDeleteAs is your comment.
DeleteRarely we read here that they do well. We read they do bad and then someone adds it's not that bad as in comments. If we want to be honest, Western economies are mainly flat for some time or have incremental growth which, with cost of life going up, decreases living standard to some extent.
DeleteAnd what, pray tell are 'eastern' economies - if western ones are so flat and bad?
DeleteThey seem to be doing well enough to sustain a critical mass of Balkan diaspora. Diaspora, that is in no hurry to go back.
Delete+1
DeleteBad news
ReplyDeleteRyanair is perfectly entitled to move aircraft where it earns more money. Airports are also entitled to decide that keeping a route at any price is not worth it.
ReplyDeleteWell said. Unfortunately experts on this site have an extremely hard time grasping this simple concept.
Delete+1
DeleteThere is a difference between losing a route because it performed badly and losing it because an entire base closes.
ReplyDeleteThe end result is the same. What good does it do you to know whether it’s option 1 or 2, if the cancellation has already been announced? Just to console yourself?
DeleteSeven closures across four countries, but several different stories behind them. I don’t think this says much about the region as a whole. Niš in particular seems to have a problem that needs its own solution.
ReplyDeleteWould be interesting to follow where the aircraft capacity is going.
ReplyDeleteTowards flights that will make more money. They know what they are doing.
DeleteWhat fuel issues at INI are they talking about?
ReplyDeletegoogle it.
DeleteInform yourself by reading past articles.
DeleteAn excuse for poor earnings. Meanwhile, there’s an official announcement that a few aircraft are being withdrawn from Vienna due to high fees and Niš is included in that.
Delete^ thank goodness you know the real reason. They have an official announcement for Nis too. And it's fuel.
DeleteYou can read the first comment below this news item. They didn't mention that anywhere when they were listing the reasons for withdrawing 4 aircraft from Vienna.
DeleteWhat a useless comments. Basically, they are scared of buying fuel from sanctioned NIS and there is no alternative provider.
Delete@10.17 there is an alternative provider
Delete^ no there is not. Stop making nonsense up.
Deleteask Wizzair
DeleteUnfortunately, this means there is now almost no direct connection between Berlin and Dubrovnik, a real shame. By comparison, there are 18 flights per week between Berlin and Split. Why is there such a large difference?
ReplyDeleteWell SPU is a larger city with a larger catchment but you are right the difference is significant.
Deletewell thats a chance for OU and Easy
DeleteChance for Easy, I agree
DeleteChance for OU, hahahahahaha
Eurowings operates flights between Dubrovnik and Berlin once a week, always on Sundays. The same applies to the former Eurowings service between Dubrovnik and Hamburg, which has actually been suspended since June this year.
DeleteFlights to HAM are planned just 6 weeks seasonally. Split is a much larger destination and DBV is rather British/ USA focussed.
DeleteOnly this year, the route was operated for just six weeks. The Dubrovnik–Hamburg route had been running for at least 10–15 years, always from May to October. Given that there are flights from Hamburg to Rijeka, Zadar, Split and Zagreb, I would be very surprised if there weren't enough passengers for Dubrovnik as well.
DeleteSo no Ryanair in Serbia anymore.
ReplyDeleteand less and less in MNE
DeleteHope someone opens up a low cost base in INI. The terminal is new, there is plenty of parking, it has a large catchment area, Wizz is doing great from it despite having a SKP base mere 200km away.
Deletehow is Wizz doing great when they shrinked their presence there to their starter pack: Basel, Dortmund, Memmingen?
Delete^ haha, love the term 'starter pack', good observation.
Delete;)
DeleteDon't quite get this love afair btw Ryanair and ZAD.
ReplyDeleteDo you need to?
DeleteIf I understand correctly, Ryan will discontinue following Ex-Yu routes:
ReplyDeleteBerlin–Dubrovnik
Berlin–Podgorica
Rijeka–Charleroi
Sarajevo–Thessaloniki (seasonal)
Niš–Corfu
Niš–Malta
Niš–Vienna
That's a bingo
Delete