Slovenia eyes closer ties with Lufthansa
The Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure has held talks with its counterparts at the German Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, where the two sides discussed ways of improving Ljubljana’s air connectivity, among other matters. The Slovenian representatives expressed interest in strengthening ties with Lufthansa in order for the country to boast better connections and more flights. The German national carrier is the busiest airline serving Slovenia, handling 20.566 passengers on its Ljubljana flights during the first quarter of the year. It is also Slovenia’s busiest transfer airline, accounting for some 30% of all connecting travellers. Together with its equity partners Swiss and Brussels Airlines, the Lufthansa Group has played a dominant role in the Slovenian aviation sector since the bankruptcy of Adria Airways in 2019.
Following the collapse of Adria, the Slovenian government proposed for it to jointly set up the country’s new national carrier with Lufthansa. Talks on the matter were held on several occasions in October 2019, however, the German airline eventually rejected the idea. Last year, its subsidiary, Air Dolomiti held talks with Slovenian officials over the possibility of setting up operations from Ljubljana. However, the Slovenian Ministry for Economic Development and Technology turned down the proposal, which is believed to have been too expensive. “Air Dolomiti is always seeking new partners and is open to assessing new possibilities. We had a meeting to see and assess opportunities for both parties”, the company said.
Despite cancelling hundreds of flights across its network next month due to staffing shortages, Lufthansa will keep its Ljubljana operations intact and will increase capacity on its flights to the Slovenian capital. Its double daily service between Frankfurt and Ljubljana will be upgraded from the CRJ900 aircraft to the Airbus A319 jet starting July 1. The move will result in an additional 94 seats per day each way between the two cities. The route will be maintained by the A319 until the end of the 2022 summer season in late October. Last month, Lufthansa restored operations between Munich and the Slovenian capital following a two-year hiatus.
0 Response to "Slovenia eyes closer ties with Lufthansa"
Post a Comment