Sky Srpska anticipates 2012 launch

New hopes for 2012

In October the Banja Luka based Sky Srpska submitted its plan to launch flights in 2012. The plans were submitted to the relevant ministry and the airline’s CEO, Zoran Injac, says Sky Srpska is now waiting to be given the green light by the entity government. If things go according to plan the airline will launch services to Vienna in 2012. “Our research shows that there is a need for flights to Vienna. Furthermore, this market should ideally be catered by two smaller jets of up seventy seats”. The proposed plan outlines that a daily flight from Banja Luka to the Austrian capital should be inaugurated and another three weekly flights to Zurich should also operate.

Sky Srpska was formed in 2007 but no aircraft have ever been neither purchased nor leased. The new plan suggests a single jet should be leased in 2012. Injac adds that a total of 2 million Euros should be invested into the airline on a yearly basis which, according to him, is not a big sum in the aviation industry. An airline based in Banja Luka could revive the city’s airport which is currently only served by B&H Airlines’ flights to Zurich.

Banja Luka Airport previously served as a hub to Air Srpska, which was formed by JAT Yugoslav Airlines. The airline was formed in the summer of 1998 so that JAT pilots and crew could continue working since their company was banned from operating flights to the rest of the continent due to international sanctions. Until 2003 the airline operated flights to Belgrade, Tivat and Zurich. However, Jat Airways ended cooperation with Air Srpska by taking back its two ATR72s provided to the airline and effectively closing it.