Wizz Air extends dominance on Macedonian market
Low cost carrier Wizz Air handled just over 750.000 passengers on its Macedonia services during the first half of the year, extending its dominance on the market where it now accounts for 65.1% of all travellers to and from the country. It was followed by Turkish Airlines in a distant second place with a 7% passenger share, then Austrian Airlines with 5.3% of the market, Chair Airlines with 4.2%, Pegasus Airlines with a 3.4% share, and Croatia Airlines with a 2.9% traveller share. Wizz Air is set to further grow, with two new routes to be launched from Skopje and one from Ohrid by the end of the month, Furthermore, it will base its fifth aircraft in the Macedonian capital. The budget carrier has already introduced six new routes from Macedonia so far this year.
Wizz Air's strong results have also solidified passenger growth at both Skopje and Ohrid airports. The country's busiest handled 1.059.223 travellers during the first half of the year, an increase of 8.5% on the same period in 2018, while Ohrid St Paul the Apostle Airport welcomed 104.444 passengers through its doors, up a notable 62.9%. Istanbul remained the most popular destination from Macedonia (if both of its airports are accounted) with 10.1% of all passengers flying to or from Turkey's largest city. It was followed by Zurich with a 6.9% market share, then Basel and Vienna at 5.4%, Malmo at 4.3% and Bratislava at 3.4%.
Commenting on the results, the General Manager of operator TAV Macedonia, Alper Ersoy, said, "We are happy to announce that the double digit increase in passenger numbers at both Macedonian airports continued throughout the first half of 2019, and is higher than the EU average of 5.9%. We expect passenger growth to continue at the same pace, and to be even higher during the third and fourth quarters, due to the opening of four new routes from Skopje Airport and six new destinations from Ohrid Airport". He added, "Macedonia's airports are blossoming. They have became among the fastest growing in the Balkans and in Europe. We are glad they are being recognised by citizens from neighbouring countries, who use them regularly for their travels. We will continue to work on their development, with the aim to transform the airports into main regional air traffic hubs".
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