Ljubljana Airport sees growing German demand
Ljubljana Airport has seen growing demand for nonstop flights to cities across Germany, its biggest market, over the past few years but currently boasts services only to Frankfurt, operated by Lufthansa. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the German carrier also maintained operations to Munich, while easyJet flew between Berlin and Ljubljana. In the years prior to its collapse, Adria Airways, in addition to Frankfurt and Munich, served Dusseldorf and Hamburg. In 2017, Eurowings considered introducing flights from Dusseldorf to Ljubljana and in 2018 organised a public vote for the launch of new routes, with the Slovenian capital being shortlisted, but ultimately it was not selected. In the last few years, there were an average of over 140.000 passengers flying between Ljubljana and Frankfurt, with exception to 2019 due to Adria’s collapse, and 2020 due to Covid, while there were over 80.000 travellers on an annual basis between Ljubljana and Munich.
Ljubljana - Frankfurt - Ljubljana route passenger performance by year
Ljubljana - Munich - Ljubljana route passenger performance by year
Despite the recent slump, the German market holds a lot of potential for Ljubljana Airport and figures show that airlines did not fully utilise the travel potential between the two countries. During the pre-pandemic 2019, easyJet handled 38.631 passengers between Berlin and Ljubljana. However, OAG data shows a further 7.268 travellers flew indirectly between the two capitals by transferring via Munich, Frankfurt, Vienna or Zurich. Adria Airways maintained flights to Dusseldorf during the 2018/2019 winter season up until late March of 2019. During those almost four months in 2019 it handled 2.045 passengers, while there were a further 6.378 travellers flying indirectly between the two cities over the duration of the year.
Ljubljana Airport’s General Manager, Zmago Skobir, previously said that Northern Germany holds great potential for flights from Ljubljana and that more must be done to secure services to this region. Data indicates that almost 11.000 passengers flew indirectly between Ljubljana and larger cities in Germany’s north such as Hamburg, Bremen and Hanover. Overall, over 35.000 travellers connected through other airports in order to reach either Ljubljana or cities in Germany. With Lufthansa exclusively operating international flights out of Frankfurt and Munich, Eurowings has the greatest chance of introducing services to the Slovenian capital from a secondary German city if the airport’s management is successful in attracting the low cost airline.
Indirect passenger traffic between Ljubljana and cities in Germany in 2019
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