Pristina Airport targets 2.5 million passengers after swift recovery
Pristina Airport anticipates handling 2.5 million passengers next year, outstripping its pre-pandemic performance after staging the quickest recovery on the continent. This year, the airport expects welcoming 2.1 million travellers through its doors, which is some 91% of its pre-Covid numbers. “Several factors have contributed to Pristina Airport’s figures. An undeniable factor was the Kosovan diaspora's ties to their country - with their families and their readiness to come back home to visit, especially after an unpredictable period caused by Covid-19. The Kosovan diaspora’s ties have proved to be strong many times, especially during the pandemic”, the General Manager of Pristina Airport, Haldun Firat Kokturk, told EX-YU Aviation News. Mr Kokturk noted the target for next year could be achieved if there are no new virus-related measures implemented both at home and abroad, which could offset recovery.
Commenting on the airport’s activities in accelerating the recovery process, Mr Kokturk said, “Our team worked closely with each and every airline to understand their needs and accommodate them operationally with the aim of reinstating their routes back. This meant frequent coordination with airlines, flexibility on terms of payment, and financial incentives to support the routes in uncertain times that are hopefully behind us”. He added, “Cooperation with our partner, the Government of Kosovo, as well as the [airport operator] LKIA teams' tireless efforts played an imperative role in handling this process as smoothly as possible”. Pristina Airport has seen a number of new routes launched this year, primarily by tour operator MyWings Aviation, which has wet-leased aircraft in order to introduce flights, the latest of which has been to Zagreb.
Pristina Airport recently completed the extension and upgrade of its runway (pictured), which will enable aircraft to land in adverse weather conditions and handle larger jets. Mr Kokturk explained that the project included the extension of the runway from 2.500 metres to 3.040 metres. Furthermore, the Instrumental Landing System (ILS) has been upgraded to CAT IIIb, which aids with approach and landing when runway visibility at a distance is no less than fifty feet (fifteen metres) and is at a visual range of less than 200 metres and not less than fifty metres. In addition, the meteorology systems and AWOS (Automated Weather Observing System) have been replaced with new ones, new VHF (very high frequency) antennas have been installed in order to facilitate air space management, new airspace maps have been created and the latest weather forecasting technology has been implemented. The equipment has been acquired from Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, and Norway.
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