Skopje Airport faces closures over runway work in 2022

Skopje Airport will overhaul its runway next year, during which it will be closed for eight and a half hours during the daytime over a span of fifty days. However, the airport notes disruption to traffic will be limited. In a statement, operator TAV Macedonia said, “As part of the investment plan for the expansion and renovation of Macedonian airports, next year, starting from March 28, 2022 until May 16, 2022, over a time period of fifty days, TAV Macedonia plans to rehabilitate the runway at Skopje Airport. For this purpose, during this time, air traffic will take place from 17:30 in the afternoon until 9:00 in the morning”.

It is unclear how the airport will manage flights scheduled to depart and land between 09.00 and 17.30 each day. As EX-YU Aviation News learns, utilising Ohrid Airport as an alternative is one of the options being considered, although Ohrid itself has its own traffic and limited capacity. “Planned in consultation with all stakeholders, the rehabilitation works will be completed without closing the airport and with a minimal impact to air traffic. We will provide further information in due course”, TAV Macedonia noted. Airline timetables are yet to reflect the airport closure times, however, the operator noted updated flight schedules for the fifty-day period will be announced soon.

Skopje has a number of flights scheduled to operate during its planned closure time, the majority of which are maintained by Wizz Air. Others include flights operated by Aegean Airlines, Austrian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Edelweiss Air, Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines and Pegasus Airlines. This summer, operator TAV Macedonia said it would invest 49.7 million euros in airport and public infrastructure in Macedonia over the next three years. The investment replaces plans to build a cargo airport in Štip, which was stipulated in the concession agreement between TAV and the Macedonian government.

EX-YU Aviation News

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