Ten airlines granted Slovenian subsidies
Ten airlines operating flights to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport will share 1.83 million euros amongst themselves following the completion of a government tender aimed at improving the country’s connectivity. All ten carriers that applied were granted funds. These include Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines, Brussels Airlines, Air Serbia, Air Montenegro, Turkish Airlines, Wizz Air, LOT Polish Airlines, easyJet and Flydubai, with the latter two included for the first time. The remaining carriers have all been beneficiaries of a similar funding mechanism last year. The Slovenian Ministry for Economic Development and Technology did not specify how much each individual airline received. Funding was distributed based on passenger numbers, frequencies and capacity. Last year, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and Air France were the largest beneficiaries. Notably, neither Air France, nor its low cost subsidiary Transavia applied this time around, despite meeting the tender requirements.
Commenting on the matter, the Slovenian Minister for Economic Development and Technology, Matjaž Han, said, "It is of vital importance for Slovenia to be included in global trends. We are an export-oriented economy, and we can only compete if our businesspeople are physically present on the world markets, which is precisely what regular and reliable air routes provide us with. Good air connections are even more important during the summer tourist season, which is why we want to attract as many foreign guests to Slovenia as possible". He added, "We are aware that the return of all carriers and the establishment of new routes will be a longer process, but with these subsidies we have nevertheless taken appropriate steps to preserve international connectivity".
Ljubljana Airport has been struggling to retain passengers since the bankruptcy of Adria Airways in September 2019, which was exasperated by the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. During the January - May period, Ljubljana was the least busy operational capital city airport in Europe and has been ranked amongst the lowest on the continent for direct air connectivity. The Ministry noted, “Subsidising air transport has so far proven to be a successful measure in ensuring air connectivity. It is about subsidising routes that are strategically important for Slovenia and the Slovenian economy, which provide us with good connectivity with the EU and the world. Regular and reliable flights are not only important for Slovenian citizens, but also for foreigners who want to conduct economic or tourist activity in Slovenia”. The ten subsidised airlines maintain thirteen destinations from Ljubljana including Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Brussels, Belgrade, Niš, Tivat, Istanbul, London Luton, London Gatwick, Charleroi, Warsaw and Dubai.
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