Ljubljana Airport seeks Gulf flights
Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is continuing to seek nonstop flights to the Middle East, despite increased competition from nearby rivals in Zagreb and Venice making it increasingly difficult to secure such operations. The General Manager of airport operator Fraport Slovenia, Zmago Skobir, said last week, "We are working closely with the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology concerning flights to the Arab world. We also have good cooperation with the Slovenian National Tourism Board, with which we are jointly identifying markets of interest and coordinating sales and marketing activities". Mr Skobir previously noted, "We are constantly working on the Gulf area, so we are very active in that respect. It is one of the most important goals not only for Fraport and the Slovenian National Tourism Board, but also for the country and the airport itself. The more direct routes, the more investors there will be, as well as more tourists. So, the Gulf is our priority but we have very strong competition for these markets in Zagreb, Belgrade, Venice and Vienna".
Last year, the Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure said that hybrid carrier Flydubai was negotiating with Fraport Slovenia over the introduction of flights to Ljubljana. "There are good prospects for the establishment of flights between the UAE and Fraport Slovenia's Ljubljana in 2018. UAE carriers are interested", the ministry said at the time. However, by July 2018, Flydubai said, "We are always looking at exploring new opportunities in our network, but, at the moment, we do not have any immediate plans on Ljubljana". In 2017, Qatar Airways' CEO, Akbar Al Baker, noted, "Ljubljana is being looked at. We have many destinations we plan to operate with our narrow-bodies". However, despite opening a flurry of new routes within Europe, including the likes of Kiev, Thessaloniki, Prague, Gothenburg and Mykonos, services to the Slovenian capital have not been included in Qatar Airways' network so far.
Both the Slovenian government and Ljubljana Airport launched an offensive two years to attract Gulf carriers. In addition to Flydubai, the airport has held talks with other leading airlines from the United Arab Emirates, including Emirates, Etihad Airways and Air Arabia. Furthermore, Slovenia and the UAE signed a Civil Aviation Agreement, which enables flexibility on routes, capacity, number of frequencies and types of aircraft between the two countries, for both passenger and cargo flights. In September, Slovenia's national carrier Adria Airways noted, "More further afield we are looking at Dubai. Unfortunately, currently do not have the right aircraft with which we can fly there". Among visitors from the Gulf to Slovenia, the numbers from Saudi Arabia are the highest, followed by those from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
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