Banja Luka to remain open

Flights to Banja Luka to go ahead as planned

Workers at Banja Luka Airport, who planned to go on a general strike today, effectively shutting down the airport until further notice, have decided against the move. Workers are unhappy with late and low wages and are requesting for funds to be redirected to them from Trebinje Airport and Sky Srpska. The decision came after the government of the entity and the workers union met yesterday and agreed for some outstanding wages to be paid. However, the government did not concede into granting a 30% pay increase, as requested by Banja Luka Airport employees. The planned 307.000 Euros the entity will give to the airport this year is only half of what is needed for it to continue to operate, the union chief said.

The agreement between the two sides will come as good news for the small amount of passengers using the airport. Today, both Adria Airways from Ljubljana and B&H Airlines from Sarajevo and onwards to Zurich have scheduled flights to and from Banja Luka. These two are the only airlines currently operating from the city. Due to its unprofitability the airport is facing the prospect of losing its operating license, which means it would no longer be able to handle commercial flights.