PREMIUM
Montenegro Airlines suspended operations on December 25, ending 26 years of service and leaving 360 people without a job. It has also severed Montenegro’s connectivity to a number of key markets. However, around 75% of all passengers traveling to and from the country in 2019 were handled by foreign carriers. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic and low demand has reduced the need for any major or immediate response, however, Montenegro Airlines’ collapse will provide a boost for some carriers by improving load factors and yields, as well as potential to grow on the market next summer.
Based on offered capacity in 2019, Air Serbia was the largest foreign carrier in the country, followed by Ryanair, Aeroflot and Wizz Air.
Capacity offered by foreign carriers to/from Montenegro in 2019
Busiest Podgorica routes in 2019
Busiest Tivat routes in 2019
Air Serbia maintains services from Belgrade to both Podgorica and Tivat, as well as seasonal flights from Niš to the Montenegrin coast. In addition to significant point to point demand, the airline also caters for considerable transfer traffic and benefited from a wide-ranging codeshare agreement with Montenegro Airlines, which saw its Montenegrin counterpart shuttle passengers through Belgrade. Air Serbia is in the best position to take over the majority of Montenegro Airlines’ passengers due to the number of flights and capacity it offers on the market. The carrier has already upgraded equipment on select services to Podgorica, from the usual ATR72 turboprop to the Airbus A320-family aircraft, and will be adjusting both frequencies and capacity in the coming weeks. In a statement, the airline said, "Due to the new circumstances and the suspension of Montenegro Airlines flights, Air Serbia will continue to provide strong links between cities in the region, Europe and the Mediterranean, as well as North America, through its hub in Belgrade. The Serbian national airline will carefully monitor possible changes in demand during the next period and adjust its capacity and frequencies to those changes".
Ryanair reported Montenegro Airlines to the European Commission on December 4, 2020 for illegal state aid, which was one of the reasons the Montenegrin government decided to shut down the company. The low cost carrier has been aggressive in recent years on the Montenegrin market. It carried more than 175.000 customers through Podgorica Airport in 2019 with all routes performing strongly prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Montenegro is currently the only market in the former Yugoslavia with more than one Ryanair route, with flights to Serbia temporarily suspended and a single service to Banja Luka, while operations to Croatia are maintained only during the summer. r. With exception to points in Poland and Dublin, Ryanair serves its entire network out of Podgorica on a year-round basis. The airline could benefit from Montenegro Airlines’ demise by taking over point to point traffic on key European markets.
Ryanair performance on year-round Podgorica routes in 2019
* launched in April 2019
Wizz Air is another low cost carrier that will see the benefits of Montenegro Airlines’ demise. It will have one competitor less on its Vienna service while it could expand to cover other diaspora-heavy routes in Germany and France previously served by the Montenegrin carrier. This year, the airline introduced a new year-round service from Podgorica to Dortmund joining Budapest, Memmingen, Milan and Vienna, as well as seasonal Polish routes.
Wizz Air performance on year-round Podgorica routes without competition in 2019
Montenegro Airlines' busiest Podgorica routes without competition in 2019
