Smaller EX-YU airports register mixed H1

Smaller commercial airports in the former Yugoslavia registered mixed results during the first half of the year, handling over 1.174.000 passengers. Jointly, they added an extra 175.000 travellers on last year. Croatia's Zadar, Pula and Rijeka benefited from an increase in operations by low cost airlines, particularly Ryanair and easyJet, while Osijek felt the effects of Wizz Air's suspension of its year-round service from Basel. The Hungarian low cost airline also impacted on Tuzla's lacklustre performance during the first quarter after it suspended several routes over the winter season, however, the airport bounced back during the second quarter and is expected to overturn its overall passengers decline in July.

Airport	Passengers H1 2019	Passengers H1 2018	Change (%)	Difference
Zadar	295.316	213.940	▲ 38.0	+ 63.376
Tuzla	271.006	275.415	1.6	- 4.409
Pula	242.826	207.503	▲ 17.0	+ 35.323
Niš	165.658	174.116	4.9	- 8.458
Ohrid	104.444	64.109	▲ 62.9	+ 40.335
Rijeka	62.204	52.081	▲ 19.4	+ 10.123
Osijek	25.903	29.470	12.1	- 3.567
Brač	7.737	8.960	13.7	- 1.223
Mali Lošinj	1.995	2.159	7.6	- 164

Niš Airport's performance was also impacted by low cost carriers during the first few months of the year, although it returned to growth from May onwards. Its figures are set to grow significantly over the coming months as Air Serbia commences twelve new routes from the city. "Traffic from Niš will continue to develop and there will be more demand and the need for more carriers", the airport said. Meanwhile, Ohrid Airport has registered passenger growth of over 60% this year with the launch of new services by Wizz Air and Eurowings, aided by charter flights from the Netherlands and Poland. It is estimated to handle over 300.000 travellers in 2019. Overall, Ohrid Airport will see the largest growth in traffic in 2019 in its 65-year history.

Banja Luka and Mostar airports have not made their June performance public. However, during the January - May period Banja Luka added over 45.000 passengers as a result of Ryanair's operations to the city, which continued to grow this year. "The partnership we have with Ryanair is most valuable for Banja Luka at this moment, and we expect to expand this cooperation in the coming period", the airport said. The low cost airline noted it would help deliver over 135.000 customers through Banja Luka in 2019. On the other hand, Mostar Airport's figures continued to decline. Numbers are expected to pick up during the third quarter with

Airport	Passengers JAN-MAY 2019	Passengers JAN-MAY 2018	Change (%)	Difference
Banja Luka	51.845	6.541	▲ 692.6	+ 45.304
Mostar	4.460	6.057	26.4	- 1.597

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EX-YU Aviation News

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