Skopje Airport sees shift in top transfer carries
The coronavirus pandemic has shifted the balance of power among the busiest transfer carriers in Skopje. With the country’s largest operator, Wizz Air, having no connecting traffic, network airlines are competing to attract a large portion of the market. Turkish Airlines, as the busiest legacy carrier Skopje, maintained the largest share of Macedonian transfer passengers, both in 2019 and 2020, with a 21% and 23% share respectively. In 2019, it was followed by Austrian, Qatar Airways, Pegasus Airlines and Croatia Airlines, with Air Serbia coming behind its regional counterpart. However, with many airlines suspending flights in 2020, passenger flow shifted. Turkish and Austrian kept their leading positions, but Pegasus moved ahead of Qatar Airways, while Air Serbia overtook both Qatar and Croatia Airlines to position itself as the fourth largest transfer airline. The Qatari national carrier still performed well considering its transfer traffic was solely concentrated in the first three months of the year, after which it discontinued operations to Skopje.
Based on OAG data, in 2019, New York was Turkish Airlines’ busiest feeder route in and out of Skopje. Points in Turkey also fared well, with holidaymakers utilising the carrier to reach cities on the Turkish coast. Notably, the airline was also used for flights between a number of European cities and Skopje, as Wizz Air operates primarily to secondary airports on the continent. Similar to Turkish Airlines, passengers flying with its Austrian counterpart utilised the carrier on services between the United States and Skopje, with New York again being the top destination. Austrian was also heavily used for transfers between Canada and Macedonia, as well as several points in Europe, primarily in Scandinavia. During 2019, Qatar Airways was most used for faraway destinations, particularly by the sizable Macedonian diaspora in Australia. Sydney was the top feeder destination, followed by Melbourne, Singapore, Perth and Bangkok.'
Top transfer carriers and share of transfer passengers in Skopje in 2019
In 2020, Pegasus Airlines positioned itself as the third busiest connecting airline in Skopje for the first time. Whereas the carrier relied on notable transfer traffic from the Middle East to the Macedonian capital prior to the pandemic, thanks to its affordable fares and convenient schedule, in 2020 it was primarily shuttling Macedonian holidaymakers to Turkish coastal cities, including Izmir, Antalya and Bodrum. The entry ban for the majority of Macedonian nationals into the European Union forced many wishing to go on holiday to do so in Turkey. Similarly, many Turkish nationals opted for a city break in Macedonia due to entry bans, with Pegasus also transferring notable traffic from Ankara, Adana and Kayseri.
Top transfer carriers and share of transfer passengers in Skopje in 2020
Last year, Air Serbia became the fourth busiest transfer airline. Despite passenger numbers being significantly reduced, the airline was one of the first to restore operations to the Macedonian capital following the global lockdowns and the airport’s reopening in June. Furthermore, its overall share of transfer passengers among carriers flying to and from Skopje stood at 10% last year compared to 6% the year before, overtaking its regional counterpart Croatia Airlines in the process. Last year, Ljubljana emerged as the feeder destination on the Skopje route. It was followed by New York, Zurich, Amsterdam and Paris.
0 Response to "Skopje Airport sees shift in top transfer carries"
Post a Comment