Ljubljana Airport hopes for spring recovery
Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport expects for a slow return to business as usual from the spring of 2021, as its passenger numbers declined for a twelfth consecutive month this August. “We all hope that things will start to normalise in the spring, followed by additional flights. For the 2021 summer season, tickets are already on sale by the majority of airlines that would have flown to our airport this summer season were it not for the virus. This is a good sign”, airport operator Fraport Slovenija said. Currently, only seven airlines maintain scheduled flights to the Slovenian capital. “Travel restrictions imposed by individual countries change on a weekly basis, based on which carriers adapt to the best of their ability. Due to the general rationalisation of operations, they are very careful and selective in re-establishing routes. They simply cannot afford to fly to money losing destinations. Winter will be tough, and some airlines definitely won’t survive”, the operator added.
Ljubljana Airport is preparing for a difficult winter ahead during which several airlines are unlikely to resume their operations, or plan to completely cancel their flights. "Airlines plan to fly somewhere based on demand. If they estimate there won’t be enough passengers to make it a cost-effective flight, they cancel such routes", Ljubljana Airport’s Head of Airline Management, Janez Krašnja, said. However, he added, “As far as spring is concerned, we are a little bit more optimistic than for winter, as we expect flights to Zurich (Swiss), Munich (Lufthansa), London Heathrow (British Airways) and Helsinki (Finnair) to be resumed”. With appropriate promotion, the airport also hopes to lure back Iberia and Israir which were supposed to launch new flights to Ljubljana from Madrid and Tel Aviv respectively this summer.
During the first eight months of the year, Ljubljana Airport handled 246.094 passengers, down 80.8% on the same period in 2019. In August alone it welcomed 20.024 travellers, representing a decrease of 86.7%. The airport is unlikely to handle more than half a million passengers this year. “Once the epidemiological situation improves across the world and there are no more daily changes to entry conditions made by individual countries, then air traffic flow will begin to improve. The world is anticipating an imminent vaccine. Air traffic will not stop, however, we do not have a precise timeline of when it will improve”, the operator concluded.
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