EX-YU airports hit by steep passenger decline
Airport across the former Yugoslavia have seen their passenger numbers plummet during the first half of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the majority to shut their doors for two months. Although the majority started to see improving figures in late June and early July, depending on their reopening, recovery remains fragile, with most airlines cutting down on their operations and travel restrictions still hindering the resumption of many services.
In Serbia, passenger traffic at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport during the second quarter fell 94.6%. Over the first half of the year, it handled 1.008.000 passengers, representing a decrease of 61.4%. Commercial aircraft movements were down 51.2% to 15.452. In a statement, operator VINCI said, “The recent announcement by Wizz Air that it would base a third plane at Belgrade flying a dozen new routes confirms the appeal of the Serbian capital and is expected to support the recovery that began in late May (down 88.5% in June, compared with June 2019). Over at Niš, Constantine the Great Airport handled 104.924 during the January - June period, down 36.6% on 2019.
Zagreb Airport, the only in the region not to have closed its doors for commercial traffic this year, welcomed 547.735 passengers through its doors during the January - June period, representing a decrease of 64.3%. “If we are comparing the number of flights on a weekly basis then we are currently at around 40% of last year’s traffic. If we look at passenger numbers, then we are at around 30% to 35%”, Zagreb Airport’s spokeswoman, Lidija Capković, said. Split Airport handled 108.434 travellers during the first half of the year, down 90.2%. However, the coastal airport has seen the first signs of recovery in July. “Between July 1 and July 13, we had a turnover of some 55.000 passengers and by the end of the month we expect a further 65.000, which will result in some 120.000 travellers by the end of July. During the first half of the year we lost around a million passengers and we will lose another million in July and August”, Split Airport’s Operations Director, Mate Melvan, said. Croatia’s third busiest airport, Dubrovnik, welcomed 87.026 travellers through its doors during the first half of the year, down 99%. “It all depends on the epidemiological situation in Croatia, as well as our guest’s countries of origin. The majority of airlines with which we have worked in the past are returning, we have some new arrivals as well, while some have collapsed due to the corona crisis. We have to remain optimistic”, the General Manager of Dubrovnik Airport, Frano Luetić, said.
Macedonia’s two international airports, Skopje and Ohrid, processed 433.012 passengers during the first half of the year, representing a decrease of 63%. Ljubljana Airport handled 197.090 travellers during the first half of the year, a decrease of 77.1% on the same period in 2019. Aircraft movements during the first two quarters stood at 6.561, down 60.7%. The airport anticipates it will welcome between 400.000 and 500.000 passengers this year.
Airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina have also been impacted by the coronavirus. Sarajevo Airport handled 143.540 passengers, a decrease of 68.6%. “Sarajevo Airport has seen a significant decline in air traffic and passenger numbers. Based on current estimates, we expect for the number of travellers to decline 55% this year”, the airport’s spokeswoman, Sanja Bagarić, said. Tuzla Airport handled 108.847 travellers between January and June, down 59.8%, while Banja Luka Airport’s passenger numbers declined 50.3% to 32.849. Mostar Airport processed just 4.813 passengers during the first two quarters, down 43.3%.
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