Maribor loses commercial flights due to low demand
Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport will not see its first commercial flights in three years this summer after services from Italy, which were to be operated by Sky Alps, were cancelled due to low demand. The Italian carrier was to introduce a series of flights from Bolzano, Naples and Pisa to Maribor this past Thursday. They were to run once per week until September 15, with the Dash 8 turboprop aircraft. A total of twelve rotations were planned from each of the three cities, with services primarily aimed at Italian tourists, however, packages were also made available for those wishing to fly from Maribor to Italy. Tickets were being sold online.
Project Manager and the Director of the tourism company BMG, Božidar Dokl, said the flights were cancelled due to a lack of interest from Italian tourists as result of growing Covid concerns in Italy. “Italians now mostly opt to vacation in their home country as concerns over Covid keep growing. BMG had put a lot of time and energy into promoting these flights but flying almost empty planes would be costly. The charter flights, primarily set up for Italians to come to Slovenia, were also offered to Slovenians that wanted to visit the three Italian cities, but this was not a priority for us as the majority of the promotional efforts were aimed at Italians”, Mr Doki said. The Slovenian Tourist Board was also part of the project.
Return tickets for Sky Alps’ Bolzano flights cost 259 euros, the Naples service was priced at 359 euros, while the Pisa flights were advertised at 289 euros. The fare included fifteen kilograms of checked in luggage, as well as a cabin bag weighing up to eight kilograms. Maribor Airport, which has struggled to attract airlines for years, is expected to be put up for concession in the near future, after a previous concession agreement was terminated several years ago over the government’s inability to adopt a new spatial plan, which would enable the airport to expand. The government is adamant the new plan will be approved soon, after which the selection of a concessionaire will begin. Earlier this year, Wizz Air expressed interest in serving the city from Skopje but is reportedly seeking subsidies valued up to one million euros.
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