Sarajevo Airport expects 2021 recovery with new carriers

Sarajevo Airport is forecasting that its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic will begin in 2021 when it expects to attract several new carriers. The airport has been hit hard by Covid-19, with its revenue and passenger numbers plummeting. In August, it saw fewer travellers than its traditionally less busier counterpart in Tuzla for a third months in a row. “During the 2020/2021 winter season, we don’t expect a notable increase in weekly traffic. A more significant number of airlines are expected to return during the summer of 2021, when we also anticipate the arrival of some new carriers”, the General Manager of Sarajevo Airport, Alan Bajić, said.

Sarajevo Airport is currently served by six airlines. They include Austrian Airlines with eight weekly flights, Turkish Airlines with seven, Pegasus Airlines and Flydubai with four weekly rotations, Air Serbia with three weekly services and Croatia Airlines with one weekly flight. During the January - August period, the airport handled 178.899 passengers, down 78.1% on the same period last year. The number of aircraft movements fell by 59.3% to 3.933. At the start of the 2019/2020 winter season, Lufthansa is expected to resume operations from Munich, while Wizz Air is to restore flights from Budapest in December.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Federal Parliament has rejected a proposal for part of the state tax for the development of air transport, which is collected from Sarajevo Airport, be kept by the operator. The majority of MPs in the House of Representatives voted against the motion. The tax amounts to ten euros per passenger. Sarajevo Airport has said that work on the construction of its new terminal, although progressing, has been slowed due to the virus, a drop in revenue and the accumulation of financial losses throughout the year. To help combat the financial fallout from Covid, Tuzla Airport recently introduced a one euro coronavirus tax.

EX-YU Aviation News

Share this post