Adria Airways | 1961 - 2019

Adria Aviopromet was founded in March 1961. It acquired four used DC-6B aircraft from the Dutch carrier KLM and operated its first commercial flight in August of the same year using Dutch crew. The first flights with locally trained personell began in December 1961. Initially, Adria's aircraft flew from Zagreb Airport. It was not until 1964 that the airline moved to the newly built Ljubljana Airport, which served as its home until the company’s final day.

In the years that followed, the airline gradually conquered the charter flight market and began carrying tourists from Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Scandinavia to airports across the Adriatic coast. Adria also became the first Yugoslav carrier to operate flights to the United States and Canada. Its aircraft made occasional trips to the two countries to cater for the Slovenian emigrant population.

In December 1968, Adria changed its name to Inex Adria Aviopromet following a merger with the Belgrade-based Interexport. The following year it acquired its first jet-engine aircraft: a DC-9-30 with the capacity to seat 115 passengers. This marked the start of its fleet modernisation program and enabled Adria to consolidate its position in the leisure market.

In September 1969, Adria began operating its first scheduled service: between Ljubljana and Belgrade. The airline experienced constant growth throughout the 1970s and validated its reputation as the most punctual charter carrier in Europe. By that time, it was also operating a number of scheduled domestic flights within Yugoslavia.

The 1980s saw the acquisition of new MD-80 and Dash 7 aircraft and, towards the end of the decade, the arrival of the first Airbus A320. Thus, Adria became the first Yugoslav carrier to operate Airbus manufactured jets. At the same time, the first scheduled international services to European destinations were introduced. In 1986, Adria left the Inex system and became an independent company called Adria Airways.

In 1991, Slovenia declared independence, with the Yugoslav Civil Aviation Directorate, still responsible for overseeing Slovenia's airspace, grounding the carrier for three months. It resumed operation in January 1992. It had to seek new opportunities in a significantly smaller market, since the majority of its charter services from Western Europe to the Adriatic coast had become inaccessible as a result of the creation of new states in the region. Whereas 90% of its traffic was made out of charter flights until 1991, following Slovenia's independence 70% of services amounted to scheduled operations. 

In the 1990s, as part of a push to privatise state-owned enteprises, Adria became a public limited company. As Slovenia's flag carrier it began to transform itself from a predominantly charter to a scheduled airline, establishing a network of scheduled services throughout Europe for the needs of the newly independent Slovenia. In 1997, the airline turned its first profit.

In 2004, it became one of the first airlines in the world to receive the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification, covering organisation, operating procedures, flight safety and company security.

In 2006, Adria carried more than a million passengers in a single year for the first time, while in 2007 it became the official carrier for the Government of the Republic of Slovenia during its six-month EU presidency. That same year, Adria began modernising its fleet. This included the arrival of two new 86-seat CRJ900 aircraft, which later became the backbone of its fleet.

Despite financial difficulties which rose from time to time, the airline was privatised in 2016. It was purchased by AA International Holding, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Munich-based turnaround fund 4K Invest. It purchased a 91.58% stake in Adria at a price of 100.000 euros and later bought the remaining shares in order to secure 100% ownership. The transaction marked its first investment in the aviation sector. In 2017, a subsidiary was set up, Adria Airways Switzerland, which acquired Etihad Airways’ upscale Swiss arm Etihad Regional. The investment proved futile and the company folded shortly after. Later that year, Adria sold its brand name to a 4K-affiliated company for eight million euros, injecting much-needed capital into the airline at the time. In December 2018, Adria Airways absorbed the company STBE through a merger and acquisition. The move increased the airline's share capital and changed its ownership structure. Its majority ownership (54.3%) was passed onto Stefan Beulertz, a lawyer residing in Malta, who was a close partner of 4K Invest.

In the late evening of September 23, 2019, Adria Airways ceased operations after several of its aircraft were repossessed and its inability to sustain operations any longer due to mounting debt. Although the suspension was to be temporary the carrier did not resume flights and its Air Operator's Certificate was revoked by the Slovenian Civil Aviation Agency on September 25. Adria Airways operated the last revenue flight with its own aircraft and crew from Copenhagen to Ljubljana. Its overall final service was a charter from Paris on September 30, carrying Slovenia's men's Volleyball team, who had just become runners-up at the European Championships.

Fleet

Owned and leased aircraft from 1961 until 2019:

Douglas DC-6B - YU-AFC, YU-AFD, YU-AFE, YU-AFF, YU-AFG

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 - S5-ABF (YU-AHJ), S5-ABH (YU-AJF)

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 - YU-AJO, YU-AJR, YU-AHR, YU-AJB, YU-AJN; YU-AJX in YU-AJY

McDonnell Douglas DC-9-33CF - S5-ABG (YU-AHW), YU-AJPMcDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 - YU-AJT, YU-AJU

BAC 1-11 / ROMBAC 1-11 - YU-ANR , YU-AKN, YU-ANN , YU-ANM , YU-ANT, YU-ANS

Sud SE-210 Caravelle III - YU-AJE

Douglas DC-8-55 - N806SW

DeHavilland DHC-7 - S5-ACA (YU-AIE), S5-ACB (YU-AIF)

McDonnell Douglas MD-81 - S5-ABE (YU-AJZ)

McDonnell Douglas MD-82 - YU-ANA, S5-ABA (YU-ANB), S5-ABB (YU-ANC), S5-ABC (YU-ANG), S5-ABD (YU-ANO)

Airbus A320 - S5-AAA (YU-AOA), S5-AAB (YU-AOD), S5-AAC (YU-AOE), YU-AOB, S5-AAS, S5-AAT

Airbus A319 - S5-AAP, S5-AAR, S5-AAX

Bombardier CRJ100 - S5-AAH, F-GPYQ, EC-JOD

Bombardier CRJ200 - S5-AAD, S5-AAE, S5-AAF, S5-AAG, S5-AAI, S5-AAJ

Bombardier CRJ700ER - S5-AAZ, S5-AAY

Bombardier CRJ900 - S5-AAK, S5-AAL, S5-AAN, S5-AAO, S5-AAU, S5-AAV, S5-AFA, S5-AFB, S5-AFC

Boeing 737-500 - S5-AAM

Saab 2000 - S5-AFJ, S5-AFG, S5-AFF, S5-AFE

Adria Cargo

SAAB 340 - S5-BAM, S5-BAN

Fokker 50 - I-MLRT

EX-YU Aviation News

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