Slovenia launches €5 million airline subsidy tender
The Slovenian Ministry for Economic Development and Technology has launched tender procedures to provide financial incentives to airlines that have maintained services to the country in 2020 or plan to commence operations in the summer of 2021. The government will divide a lump sum of five million euros, down from the initially announced six million, only among airlines with European Air Operator’s Certificates. A number of conditions and three different deadlines have been set out for the provision of the financial assistance. “The purpose of the tender is to maintain the existing schedule operated by international airlines, to encourage the resumption of suspended flights due to the consequences of the pandemic, and to encourage new airlines to fly to Slovenia”, the Ministry said. It added, “Lacking a national carrier, Slovenia is currently experiencing a very slow recovery and kick-start of air passenger transport. Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, only twelve airlines actually flew to Slovenia in early 2020, then nine in September, and currently only five carriers fly to the country. According to estimates by the operator of Slovenia’s largest airport, air passenger traffic in the country will decline by more than 80% this year compared to 2019. All this has resulted in great damage to the Slovenian economy, especially to the tourism industry, which has already been hit hardest by the pandemic”.
Carriers that flew to Slovenia between March 30, 2020 and September 30, 2020 must apply for the subsidies by November 9, 2020. Airlines which are maintaining services between October 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021 must apply for the aid by June 10, 2021, while carriers that will serve Slovenia between June 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 must submit their applications by October 11, 2021. In order to be eligible for the financial grant, the carriers in question must have operated at least two weekly flights for a period of at least two months within the set timeframes. An expert commission formed by the Ministry will decide the amount of money each of the applicants will receive based on the criteria below. Only carriers that score over 35 points will be granted aid. The amount will then be dependent on the number of flights the carrier maintains to Slovenia, and the number of passengers it carried to the country, however, limits will be set on the maximum amount of funds the beneficiary can receive. Airlines operating charter flights are not eligible for the subsidies.
“The tender is set up in such a way that airlines which operate more flights to Slovenia and bring more passengers will receive more aid. The greatest share of the subsidies will be given for the 2021 summer season, when we expect a partial normalisation of the situation in the aviation sector”, the Ministry said. It added, “For Slovenia, tourism is one of the most important industries, as it has so far generated more than 12% of Slovenia's gross domestic product. Slovenian tourism mainly depends on foreign tourists, which generate as much as 75% of all arrivals and 72% of overnight stays in the country. At the same time, neighbouring Italy, which is one of the biggest epidemiological hotspots in Europe, represents one of the three most important foreign markets for Slovenia, which is why we are also recording a drastic decline in demand. Just under half of foreign overnight stays (47.9%) were generated in 2019 by tourists from six countries: Germany (13.4% of all foreign overnight stays), Italy (11.2%), Austria (8.9%), the Netherlands (5.1%), Croatia (4.7%) and the Czech Republic (4.5%). Almost one quarter of all foreign guests arrive in Slovenia by plane in the main (summer) season, so the accessibility of Slovenia by air is crucial for the recovery and strengthening of the tourism industry.
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