LCCs unaffected by Air Serbia’s PSO routes
Low cost carriers (LCCs) Wizz Air and Ryanair have been largely unaffected by the Serbian government’s decision to subsidise eleven Public Service Obligation (PSO) routes from Niš Constantine the Great Airport, all of which are operated by Air Serbia. This summer season, Wizz Air will be adding capacity to Niš, with the airline offering 66.850 tickets for sale according to OAG, up from 63.090 last year. The airline will operate an additional 22 flights to and from Niš between March 29 and late October. Based on offered capacity, the budget carrier was the largest in the south-east Serbian city last summer but will be overtaken by Air Serbia in 2020, which will offer 96.048 seats.
Ryanair will offer less capacity than last summer due to the closure of its Skavsta base, resulting in the termination of its flights from Sweden to Niš at the end of the month. The airline will offer 44.037 seats compared to 45.927 in the summer of 2019. Ryanair’s attempt to introduce services from Hahn this January was blocked by the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate as the route had already been launched by Air Serbia with state subsidies. The tender which called on airlines to vie for state-sponsored flights of public interest did not initially preclude other carriers from operating the same routes without incentives. However, the documentation was altered after Ryanair was denied a permit for the flights. Europe’s largest airline accused the Directorate of protectionism.
Germany will be the largest market from Niš this summer, followed by Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. Swiss, which terminated flights from Zurich to the south-east Serbian city this winter, will not be returning. It offered over 10.300 seats for sale last summer on the route. On the other hand, Air Serbia will continue to maintain services to eleven destinations from Niš this year. Tivat remains its only seasonal route, on which it carried 7.567 passengers across 36 flights during its operating period from July 16 until October 13. Niš Airport handled 78.772 travellers during the first two months of 2020, representing an increase of 61.2%. Overall, it added an extra 29.900 passengers on last year.
| Month | PAX | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| JAN | 39.807 | ▲ 57.8 |
| FEB | 38.965 | ▲ 64.7 |
The airport noted last year that the subsidised Air Serbia flights were not aimed against Ryanair or Wizz Air, which have been serving the city for several years. The Serbian national carrier will receive some five million euros per year over the next five years for its Niš operations. On the other hand, the two budget airlines enjoy a low three euro fee for handling, landing and passenger services under their current contracts with the airport which run until 2021. "These low cost airlines won't be chased out. Traffic from Niš will continue to develop and there will be more demand and the need for more carriers", the General Manager of operator Airports of Serbia, Mihajlo Zdravković, said.
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