Ministry: No appropriate proposals for boosting Slovenia’s connectivity
The Slovenian Ministry of Economic Development and Technology has said it turned down several proposals from airlines to open a base in Ljubljana as none would have sufficiently improved the country’s connectivity. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, it said, “The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology had several meetings and communications with various airlines or air transport suppliers. The fact was that the majority of the proposals were relatively short-term oriented, mostly to cover the needs of Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. On the other hand, there was actually no appropriate proposal which would have enabled passengers travelling from or to Slovenia to benefit from high quality service, based on the proposed destinations, the timing and flight schedules, as well as the opportunities for connecting onto flights at Europe’s most important hubs”.
Based on previous reports, the Ministry held talks with the Lufthansa-owned Air Dolomiti, low cost carrier Wizz Air, Slovenian cargo airline Solinair and the French Valljet, while a carrier from the Middle East also expressed interest in establishing a new Slovenian operation. The Ministry also conducted discussions with Croatia Airlines, Air Serbia, LOT Polish Airlines and former Etihad Airways President and CEO turned consultant James Hogan. Air Dolomiti noted, “In the past we had contacts to see if cooperation was possible. Air Dolomiti is always seeking new partners and is open to assessing new possibilities. However, we made no concrete plans nor signed any agreements. We had a meeting to see and assess opportunities for both parties”.
The Ministry noted it has not received any new proposals since Slovenia’s Presidency of the Council of the EU concluded at the end of December 2021. “The proposals were mostly provided before and during the period of the Presidency. Following its completion, we have not received any additional proposals. We are planning to renew the subsidy program for foreign airlines operating at Ljubljana Airport, and to support the continuity of flight operations in 2022 to the amount of two million euros”, the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology concluded. Its head, Zdravko Počivalšek, recently said the government was still looking into ways to fill the void left by the collapse of Adria Airways in September 2019. “If we want to have better air connectivity in Slovenia, we will have to do something in this sector and find a way forward to enable progress, in cooperation with a private stakeholder. Currently, we do not have a national carrier, and air traffic is severely affected by the pandemic”, Mr Počivalšek said.
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