Skopje boom expected in 2011

Skopje’s new terminal under construction

In 2011 Macedonia will fully implement the European Free Sky agreement, which allow airlines to begin flights to Macedonia with ease. The sky liberalisation should coincide with the opening of Skopje Airport’s new terminal. The airport’s management believes that in 2011 passengers travelling from Macedonia will see more carriers, including low cost airlines.

Zoran Krstevski, the head of Macedonia’s Civil Aviation Agency notes that the full implementation of the Free Sky agreement is an important step for the country’s aviation industry. He believes that, as a result, Macedonia will become a more competitive market and passengers can expect new flights to the Middle East. Turkish Airlines is particularly interested in exploiting the mostly underserved Macedonian market, he states.

Several months ago, Skopje Airport’s management said they were negotiating with several low cost airlines to commence flights to the city. New flights have already been scheduled from Ohrid to Amsterdam and Helsinki in 2011. Both airports have seen their number of handled passenger increase this year, although most passengers are using charter instead of scheduled flights. Recently, the Macedonian based charter airline Air Lift Service, which served the bulk of passengers from Macedonia, terminated flights, leaving yet another void in the market on top of MAT’s demise in 2009.