Slovenia mulls three options to boost air connectivity
The Slovenian government is considering three different strategies in a bid to boost the country’s air connectivity which has been affected by the collapse of Adria Airways in September 2019 and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to the daily “Delo”, these include the establishment of a new national carrier, a partnership with a foreign airline which would base its aircraft in Ljubljana and hire Slovenian crew members, as well as subsidies for foreign airlines, which the government has already adopted and put into action. The creation of a new national carrier is currently the most expensive option, but is likely to quickly improve the situation on the market, while subsidising foreign airlines requires the least funding, although the government has decreased the original budget set aside for this measure.
The government is considering allocating 76 million euros for a new national carrier as part of its Recovery and Resilience Plan, which needs to be submitted to the European Union for approval, as the block will be providing 1.6 billion euros in grants and 3.6 billion euros in repayable funds. According to Slovenian media, initial reactions from the European Commission towards the entire draft proposal last month have been negative as some of the planned investments are considered inconsistent with EU guidelines. The Commission recently noted it was looking forward to further dialogue with the Slovenian authorities with the aim of making the best possible use of the funds to support economic recovery, in line with the European Union's priorities. If the government chooses to provide funds for a new airline, and it receives the EU’s approval, it would likely do so jointly with a private partner.
Ljubljana Airport has said it is in talks with a carrier to base an aircraft in Ljubljana and hire Slovenian crew. It noted this strategy was more sensible and financially viable than the potential set-up of a new national carrier. The airport’s General manager, Zmago Skobir, noted last week, “Talks are underway on this, but there are several possible models of collaboration, which are a matter of assessments, business plans and risk sharing. The concept involves a reputable foreign carrier that could operate with Slovenian crew and perhaps also in our colours”.
The government’s last option is to continue providing subsidies to foreign carriers to maintain flights to Ljubljana. This measure has already been implemented, with another two rounds of subsidies to follow next year. However, the budget for these incentives has been slashed compared to the initial total of five million euros. In the first round of funding, awarded last month, eight airlines shared among them 985.320 euros, instead of the initially planned 1.5 million. Although another 3.5 million euros were planned for the remaining two rounds, the government has recently said just one million euros would be provided.
0 Response to "Slovenia mulls three options to boost air connectivity"
Post a Comment