Macedonia to modify airline subsidy rules
The Macedonian government has adopted plans to launch a third tender for the granting of financial support to an airline to launch new routes from the country, following two failed attempts earlier this year. Tender procedures are expected to begin soon, however, the state noted that the terms and condition will be simplified this time around in order for a winning bid to be secured. Wizz Air was the only carrier to apply for the incentives during the previous two attempts, however, was rejected on both occasions due to alleged shortcomings with its application. A similar subsidy policy was enforced both in 2012 and 2015, with the no frills airline being the sole beneficiary.
In a statement, government spokesman, Mile Bosnjakovski, said, "This will be the third public call to choose an airline that will receive financial support. This time we eased the conditions, so the airline should establish two new routes from Skopje and two from Ohrid Airport by March 26, 2019. The previous deadline was January 10. The first two calls were unsuccessful due to the bidder's failure to meet the requirements of the tender procedure. We expect this third call to be successful in the interest of the citizens in order for them to be able to fully benefit from low cost flights". The three-year incentives program is valued at five million euros.
The Macedonian Minister for Transport and Communications, Goran Sugareski, noted, "These are good times for air traffic in Macedonia. We have a continuous increase in the number of passengers, we have an increase in the number of airlines operating to the country and an increase in flights compared to previous years, which gives us the right to expect that these figures will only grow further in the coming period". He added, "We will not give up on our strategic interests which includes the development of Ohrid Airport. In the coming months, we will continue to work in order to improve air traffic and provide both the general public and the business community with a wide network of destinations in accordance with their needs". Skopje and Ohrid airports handled a combined total of 2.019.205 passengers during the January - October period, representing an increase of 16.6% on last year. In October alone, the two welcomed 318.074 travellers, up 6.9%.
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