PREMIUM
Skopje Airport has seen rapid passenger growth over the past decade, driven primarily by low cost carrier Wizz Air which had up to five aircraft stationed in the city prior to the coronavirus pandemic and maintained operations to a number of European destinations, mainly secondary airports tens of kilometres away from main airport hubs. As a result, the majority of Skopje’s unserved destinations are in Europe, as smaller nearby airports proved inefficient for many travellers, especially those transferring to far-away destinations. New York was the busiest unserved route both in 2019 and 2020, while large European cities such as Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt also saw considerable indirect traffic from Skopje.
The list below represents the total number of indirect passengers that flew to/from Skopje to/from any airport located within a certain city (this includes the total for points which have multiple international airports, such as New York).
Top ten unserved routes to/from Skopje in 2019
New York - Skopje - New York
Istanbul was used as the primary point for transfers between New York and Skopje, from which passengers connected onto Turkish Airlines flights. It was followed by Vienna and Belgrade. Overall, the Turkish carrier was the single most utilised airline for flights between Skopje and the Big Apple, accounting for 39% of the market. It was followed by Austrian Airlines with a 23% market share and Air Serbia with 17% of transfers. Skopje Airport had previously attempted to secure flights to New York. In 2017 it submitted a joint proposal with the Macedonian government for Turkish Airlines to introduce services to the United States via Skopje. Macedonia and Turkey have an Open Skies Agreement in place with both the United States and Canada, which permits for a Turkish carrier to be issued fifth freedom rights by regulators from all parties involved. At the time, Turkish Airlines said it would study the proposal and expressed interest in the potential service.
Top transfer airports on New York - Skopje - New York route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on New York - Skopje - New York route in 2019
Brussels - Skopje - Brussels
Despite being the seat of the European Union, which Macedonia aspires to join, Skopje does not have a nonstop service to the Belgian capital. Instead, Wizz Air serves Brussels through Charleroi, which is some sixty kilometres away. Star Alliance members Austrian, (the now defunct) Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines were the main feeder carriers, holding a joint total of 76% of the market. Consequently, their respective hubs were the most used by traveller flying between Skopje and Brussels.
Top transfer airports on Brussels - Skopje - Brussels route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on Brussels - Skopje - Brussels route in 2019
Amsterdam - Skopje - Amsterdam
Amsterdam was another European capital which is served by Wizz Air from Skopje through a secondary airport but had a significant number of indirect travellers. Wizz Air maintains services between the Macedonian capital and Eindhoven, the latter being 140 kilometres north of Amsterdam. Similar to Brussels, Austrian and Croatia Airlines were amongst the top picks by passengers flying between the two cities, however, Air Serbia also had a respectable share of transfers on the route, at 13%.
Top transfer airports on Amsterdam - Skopje - Amsterdam route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on Amsterdam - Skopje - Amsterdam route in 2019
Melbourne - Skopje - Melbourne
There is a significant Macedonian population in Australia, with Melbourne having the largest diaspora. Qatar Airways dominated the transfer market between Skopje and Australia’s second largest city, accounting for 56% of all passengers, all of them transferring through Doha. Overall, the Skopje - Australia market counted 29.543 passengers in 2019.
Top transfer airports on Melbourne - Skopje - Melbourne route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on Melbourne - Skopje - Melbourne route in 2019
Due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the top ten unserved routes from Skopje changed slightly, with traffic volumes significantly down. Most notably, the complete closure of the Australian market saw travel between the two countries wiped out. The list below only displays cities that had no commercial flights to the Macedonian capital whatsoever for the duration of last year.
Top ten unserved routes to/from Skopje in 2020
