Summer changes for Adria, B&H and Montenegro Airlines

Tomorrow, the 2012 Northern Hemisphere summer season begins. Following on from last week, when changes and additions were published for Croatia Airlines and Jat Airways, this week amendments for Adria Airways, B&H Airlines and Montenegro Airlines can be viewed.

Adria Airways’ summer season sees a big reduction in operations compared to last year. Flights to Paris, Warsaw, Toulon and Banja Luka were all suspended last year. Seasonal flights to Athens, Dublin, Kiev and Stockholm won’t be resuming this summer. The airline will reduce frequencies on regional flights with services to Priština, Tirana and Skopje taking a hit. On the other hand, the Slovenian carrier will launch new flights to London Luton Airport, increase frequencies to Copenhagen and operate numerous charters.

B&H Airlines will operate flights only to Istanbul, Copenhagen and Zurich via Banja Luka. The airline currently has a single ATR72 in operation. However, if its Turkish part owner manages to make amends with the Bosnian government other aircraft could be returned to the B&H fleet which would lead to some destinations being resumed.

Finally, Montenegro Airlines will reduce frequencies to several destinations. The most notable is a reduction of nine weekly flights from Podgorica to Zurich. The airline will also halve the number of flights to Moscow. However, the Montenegrin carrier will introduce a new service from Tivat to London Gatwick and will strengthen frequencies to Paris.

By clicking on the links below, you can view the 2012 summer season changes in more detail.

Adria Airways • B&H Airlines • Croatia Airlines • Jat Airways • Montenegro Airlines

All smiles for Adria at Priština

Priština has quickly become a success for Slovenia’s Adria Airways, a claim reinforced by the strong results the airline has seen on the recently launched services from the city to Verona in Italy. In the first three weeks since the route was launched on January 28, the airline carried approximately 2.500 passengers and recorded an average cabin occupancy index of 81.6%. "I am very pleased that we have introduced this service and I expect it to satisfy both Kosovo and Italian citizens", Adria CEO Klemen Boštjančič said at a recent launch party for the service.

Adria is quickly becoming one of the major players at Priština Airport. In 2011 the Slovenian national carrier welcomed some 140.000 passengers on board flights to and from Priština, making it the second busiest airline at the airport after Edelweiss. This summer, besides Verona, Adria will be operating flights to Frankfurt, Ljubljana and Munich as well.

Adria is the only former Yugoslav airline to have a secondary base outside of its borders. There have also been other attempts by national carriers in the region to open bases in neighbouring countries. Montenegro Airlines has attempted several times to open a base in Belgrade since 2006 but so far hasn’t received the green light from local authorities to do so. In 2010, Jat Airways attempted to open a base at Skopje Airport following the collapse of MAT Macedonian Airlines. However, its subsidiary Aeromak was denied a license by the Macedonian Civil Aviation Directorate.

Tomorrow you will be able to review summer changes Adria, Montenegro Airlines and B&H Airlines will be making to their summer timetables. Special thanks to the Sierra5 portal for contributing to the above news story.

Authorities unhappy with Limak

The Franco-Turkish consortium Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon, which run Priština Airport, are reported to be having problems with local authorities over a range of issues. The public broadcaster, Radio Television of Kosovo, says that authorities are unhappy with various managerial decisions made by the consortium so far. Problems first appeared late last year when authorities accused Limak of violating the concession agreement in respect to the asking price for rent of commercial space at the airport. Furthermore, the airport has recently significantly increased handling fees for carriers using Priština, much to the displeasure of airlines. British Airways, which operates three weekly flights to the city from London Gatwick, has been one of the most vocal in its dissatisfaction with the consortium. The head of Priština Airport, Ferda Yakar from Turkey, resigned from his post in October last year.

Another major disagreement between the airport operator and local authorities is the airport’s controversial name “Adem Jashari” - a guerrilla fighter regarded as a hero by some but a villain amongst minority groups. The name was given in 2010 based on a government decision, however, Limak is said to be unhappy with it. The operator did not want to comment on the name issue to local media. Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon are to run Priština Airport for twenty years under the concession agreement.

Priština saw historic passenger figures in 2011 making it the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia for the first time in its history. The airport is likely to hold onto its position in 2012 with several frequency increases and new services announced by various airlines for the upcoming summer season and a number of other additions introduced over the 2011/2012 winter period.

EX-YU cities loose Budapest flights after Malev collapse

Following Malev’s demise on Friday, EX-YU cities have been left without direct air links to Hungary’s capital Budapest, which, amongst other things, attracted many transit passengers. None of the national carriers of the former Yugoslavia have attempted to introduce flights to Budapest and try to scoop stranded passengers. On Friday Lufthansa, easyJet, Wizz Air and Air Berlin were quick to react and increase frequencies while Ryanair announced over thirty new destinations to the Hungarian capital.

Malev had an extensive network in the former Yugoslavia operating flights to Belgrade, Priština, Podgorica, Sarajevo, Skopje and Zagreb. The Hungarian national carrier operated nine weekly flights to Belgrade. Recently, the airline had seen sliding passenger numbers on the route as more competition saw fewer transit passengers. The airline planed to reduce the service to one daily flight from the 2012 summer season. Malev operated two daily flights to Priština and thirteen weekly to Skopje, from which it saw numerous transit passengers. There were no plans to either increase or reduce flights over the coming summer. Sarajevo enjoyed daily flights and Podgorica six weekly while nearby Zagreb saw 18 weekly services between the two cities this winter. None of the former Yugoslav national carriers operate flights to the Hungarian capital and none have jumped at the opportunity to inaugurate services between the two cities since Malev’s demise. While the Hungarian low cost airline Wizz Air is based in Belgrade, it is unlikely it will be tempted to launch flights between the two cities as its aircraft are too big and inter Eastern European flights have proved unsuccessful for the airline in the past.

Officials at Budapest Airport, one of the biggest losers of Malev’s grounding, said it doubts the flights will ever be reinstated. "There are some estimates that over 20 or 23 routes of Malev will never be served by other airlines", airport spokesmen Mihaly Hardy said. It is believed that the Hungarian government will work to set up a new national carrier by the start of the 2012 summer season, which begins in over a month. It remains to be seen whether EX-YU destinations, on which Malev had a complete monopoly, will be resumed.

Flight delays and cancelations across EX-YU

UPDATED 21.00 CET

Snowstorms, fog and freezing weather have disrupted flight operations across the former Yugoslavia. Podgorica has been closed on and off for the past three days while Sarajevo Airport closed its doors this morning until 20.00 CET. In Belgrade meanwhile, the airport was evacuated when an anonymous call came that there was a bomb on board Air France's jet, which turned out to be false.

Both snow and fog are proving to be a problem at Sarajevo Airport. Sarajevo closed this morning with all departures cancelled for the day. Nearly all flights from Sarajevo were cancelled yesterday as well. Only early morning departures and B&H Airlines’ flights to Zurich and Istanbul were unaffected. Austrian was forced to divert its evening Sarajevo service to Belgrade. Operations resumed in the evening hours with Austrian, Jat and Croatia Airlines performing their flights as normal.

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport saw short delays throughout the day however there was some panic after an anonymous phone caller said there was a bomb onboard an Air France jet which was being prepared for its return flight to Paris. The airport was forced to evacuate and the flight cancelled although no bomb was found. The caller, a 62 year old from Bor, was later arrested. He said he was “only having some fun”. It was later disclosed that the man in question is mentally challenged.

In Montenegro, most flights to and from Podgorica Airport have been cancelled for the last three days due to heavy snowfall. There is now a big backlog of passengers on the Podgorica - Belgrade - Podgorica service with both Montenegro Airlines and Jat Airways cancelling most flights between the two cities. The two airlines attempted to operate flights to Tivat yesterday but before making their descent into the coastal city were forced to turn back to Belgrade. In order to clear the backlog of passengers Jat planned to operate an early morning service to the Montenegrin capital at 4.40 today but has cancelled the flight.

In Skopje, Priština and Ljubljana, flights have been operating normally (other than those to Montenegro) although all with an average forty minute delay. Out of all the airports in the former Yugoslav region, Zagreb was operating most smoothly with nearly all flights taking off from the airport yesterday, registering only minor delays. Split Airport has been closed due to snow and extreme winds reaching up to 180 kilometres per hour.

All of Eastern Europe is grappling with a Siberian freeze which is spreading westwards. Freezing conditions, which have claimed hundreds of lives across the continent, are set to persist for days to come.

Priština overtakes Ljubljana as third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia

Priština has finished 2011 as the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia, for the first time since it opened its doors in 1965. The dethroned Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport fell into fourth place with Dubrovnik Airport hot on its heels. A total of six airports managed to handle more than one million passengers.

Ljubljana Airport was affected by Adria Airways’ crisis last year and its significant reduction of flights, which were felt during the months of August, November and December. Since January the airport has recorded declining or break even numbers compared to those from 2010, with the exception of April when the airport saw significant growth. As a result, Slovenia’s capital city airport welcomed just under 1.370.000 passengers, a decrease of 1.3% compared to 2010. It should be taken into account that Ljubljana was closed for almost an entire month in 2010. Since 2008, when Ljubljana saw record traffic by handling 1.673.050 passengers, its figures have steadily decreased each year. Ljubljana Airport expects lower traffic volumes and revenue in 2012. Still, the airport says that Adria’s decline should be substituted by foreign airlines and charter flights this year.

Priština Airport handled 1.422.302 passengers, an increase of almost 9%. The three busiest airlines operating out of Priština were Edelweiss, Adria Airways and Belle Air. The most popular destinations out of the city were Zurich, Vienna and Dusseldorf. As has previously been reported, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is well ahead of its competition and in 2011 strengthened its position as the busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia. Other notable achievements were recorded by Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Skopje, Ohrid and Tivat. Joining Ljubljana as the only EX-YU capital city airport to see its figures decline in 2011 was Podgorica.

Below you can review the number of handled passengers by the ten busiest airports in the former Yugoslavia in 2011:

Airport	Passengers 2011	Passengers 2010	Change (%)
Belgrade	3.124.633	2.698.730	▲ 15.8
Zagreb	2.319.098	2.071.561	▲ 11.9
Priština	1.422.302	1.305.532	▲ 8.9
Ljubljana	1.370.000	1.388.651	▼ 1.3
Dubrovnik	1.349.501	1.270.062	▲ 6.3
Split	1.300.381	1.219.741	▲ 8.1
Skopje	759.928	681.080	▲ 11.6
Tivat	647.169	542.000	▲ 19.4
Podgorica	611.666	651.478	▼ 6.1
Sarajevo	599.996	563.266	▲ 6.5

Adria full of surprises

Adria Airways has announced that it will be launching flights from Priština to Verona in Italy. The news wouldn’t be that surprising if it weren’t for the fact that they will be launched in just over two weeks, in the middle of the winter season. The flights are not being operated as charters, rather, as a scheduled service. The flights to Verona will launch on January 28 and will operate twice per week, every Tuesday and Saturday with an Airbus A319. Details can be viewed here.

The unexpected new route launch will see Adria serving a total of four destinations out of Priština Airport, with Verona being added alongside Frankfurt, Ljubljana and Munich. The Slovenian national carrier will have tough competition on the route as it will face off against Belle Air Europe and Italy’s second largest airline Meridiana Fly.

Flights to Verona come only a week after the carrier announced it would resume flights from Ljubljana to London Gatwick this summer, suspended late last year due to cost cutting measures. The airline is still implementing its restrictive financial restructuring policy. In 2011, Verona was the ninth busiest route operating out of Priština. It managed to outperform several cities in Germany as well as Switzerland, traditionally the strongest markets. Now it seems, Adria wants a piece of the cake.

Soon in Dubrovnik

S7 Airlines and Malmo Aviation have announced flights to the Croatian coast next summer, while Belle Air Europe will be launching another destination from Priština, thus strengthening its base.

The number of Russian tourists visiting Croatia has sharply increased over the past few years and Russian carriers are looking to cash in. S7 Airlines has announced that it will launch flights from Moscow Domodedovo Airport to Dubrovnik from June 7, with a one weekly flight. The service will compete against Aeroflot which will operate daily flights to Dubrovnik (up from three weekly this year) from June 1, although services originate from its base at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Furthermore, S7 will resume flights from Moscow to Split, which were launched during the 2011 summer season, with an added weekly service, totalling to two per week. Flight details for the Moscow Domodedovo - Dubrovnik flights can be found here. Meanwhile, Malmo Aviation will launch services from Billund in Denmark to Split. Flights will operate from June 23 once per week with details available here.

Belle Air Europe plans to inaugurate flights from Priština to Hannover in Germany next summer. It will be the fourteenth destination to be served by Belle Air from Priština. Flights are set to take off in late June. Belle Air is fast becoming the most dominant airline at Priština Airport. Since Belle Air (which operates flights from Priština to Switzerland) and its subsidiary Belle Air Europe are coded as separate airlines they have been recorded as the third and fourth busiest airlines operating out of Priština in 2011 respectively. However, if the two are combined they are ahead of competition with a 19% share of flights from the city, in front of Adria’s 15% and Austrian’s 12%. Several days ago the Swiss based Helvetic Airways launched services from Priština to Bern. After Germany, Switzerland is the biggest market out of Priština Airport.

Construction of Priština’s new terminal on schedule

By the end of October Priština Airport handled 1.212.856 passengers and is on track to improve on its 2010 end of year result when it saw 1.305.533 passengers. It is also on course to become the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia, after Belgrade and Zagreb, unless Dubrovnimk sees strong numbers in November and December. The airport has seen a strong increase in traffic throughout the year with Germanwings recently launching several new routes to Priština. Vienna topped the list of busiest routes to and from Priština this year followed by Istanbul, Budapest, Munich and Zurich. Ljubljana was the only city in the former Yugoslavia making it into the top ten position, at seventh place. Adria Airways remains the biggest carrier operating out of Priština followed by Austrian and Belle Air Europe. Turkish Airlines managed sixth place, British Airways ninth while Croatia Airlines settled as the eleventh busiest airline from Priština.

Meanwhile, construction work on Priština’s multi million Euro terminal is ongoing. The investment is worth 120 million Euros and will see the construction of a new terminal stretching over 42.000 square metres, a new control tower, an apron able to accommodate nine Boeing 737 jets, three air bridges, a car park for 1.750 vehicles, a new access road from the city to the airport and the widening of taxiways. A total of 150 people will work inside the new terminal, expected to open in January 2013.

Future look of Priština’s new terminal

The construction of the new multi million Euro terminal at Priština Airport is on schedule with the ground floor currently under construction while building work has been completed on the underground floor. Government officials praised the Turkish-French consortium, Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon, which are overseeing the construction of the new terminal and will run Priština’s airport for the next twenty years.

The investment is worth 120 million Euros and will see the construction of a new terminal stretching over 42.000 square metres, a new control tower, an apron able to accommodate nine Boeing 737 jets, three air bridges, a car park for 1.750 vehicles, a new access road from the city to the airport and the widening of taxiways. A total of 150 people will work inside the new terminal, expected to open in January 2013.

Construction of Priština's terminal progresses

This year, Priština is battling for the title of the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia, competing against former place holder Ljubljana and the surging Dubrovnik and Split. Priština Airport has recorded strong growth this year. In 2010, Priština Airport handled 1.305.532 passengers.

Adria farewells Banja Luka, London, Paris, Toulon and Warsaw

After months of speculation, Slovenia’s Adria Airways has finally announced its list of suspended destinations for the upcoming 2011/12 winter season. The airline will bid farewell to Banja Luka, London Gatwick, Toulon, Warsaw and Paris and will suspend its Vienna - Frankfurt route along with flights to Dusseldorf originating from Priština. Despite heavy losses on the route, Adria will maintain flights to Istanbul. Over the past few months, Slovenian media have suggested that the airline would suspend flights to Turkey’s largest city as well as Copenhagen. Some routes will see a reduction in frequencies. According to a press release from the carrier, during the winter season (which begins October 30), Adria will operate a total of 163 scheduled flights per week to fifteen destinations.

Adria Airways will operate up to four daily flights from Ljubljana to Frankfurt and three flights per day to Vienna, Munich and Zurich. It will connect Ljubljana with the Macedonian capital eleven times per week while services to Belgrade will be increased from six to eight per week. The airline will maintain flights from Priština to Frankfurt and Munich but will suspend flights to Dusseldorf.

Meanwhile, the airline has also begun shedding its fleet. An Airbus A320 (registered S5-AAT) has left the Adria flock. In its final months for the airline, the aircraft wore the Adria Aviopromet retro livery to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The destination and fleet cuts were brought on by a difficult financial situation which brought the airline to the brink of bankruptcy before being saved by the Slovenian government. The difficult part is yet to come as the airline will be forced to significantly reduce its workforce.

Adria staff from Slovenia to be replaced by Adria staff from Kosovo

The Association of Adria Airways Cabin Crew has announced that the company is hiring staff from Kosovo, while planning to fire more than 20% of its existing cabin staff in Slovenia. As outlined in the company’s restructuring plan, some 22% of Adria’s workforce will lose their jobs, most of them being cabin crew. The Association argues that they will be replaced by crew from Kosovo. The staff cuts will coincide with destination network reductions which are to be announced soon. While it is now being speculated that some routes from the airline’s Priština base will also be cut, none of the staff from Kosovo will lose their jobs, instead, more are being hired. In a letter addressed to the media, the Association said that cabin crew hired in Priština do not know Slovenian but will operate on flights out of Ljubljana. Furthermore, they claim that as foreigners, crew from Kosovo will not be subject to the terms of the new collective agreement nor the Employment Act which could lead to staff exploitation, thus compromising cabin safety. The Association also asks whether tax payer’s money, to be used for a 50 million Euro bailout, will be spent on hiring foreign nationals while redundancy payments will be offered to Slovenian staff.

Adria Airways opened its base in Priština last summer with flights to several German cities. This summer it extended its offer out of Priština. However, the airline hasn’t recorded good results on most of its routes from Priština as it faces staunch competition from several low cost airlines. Adria cabin crew representatives have requested a meeting with officials from the Slovenian Transport Ministry. After being initially turned down, the Ministry has now invited cabin crew representatives for talks.

Hiring foreign cabin crew to replace in-house employees is not uncommon practice in the aviation industry. Just last month Australian low cost airline Jetstar came under fire after it was revealed it hired crew from Thailand to operate flights within Australia, working double the hours and half the pay. The scandal led an Australian senator to propose a bill to ban foreign based cabin crew to serve on Australian domestic flights. Similarly, several US airlines have come under fire for replacing American cabin crew with those from India.

Germanwings to replace rival on key routes

Priština will become the causality of Air Berlin’s network reductions in face of mounting losses. The airline, which operates flights from Hamburg and Dusseldorf to Priština will suspend the flights on October 15 and October 30 respectively, as the summer season comes to an end. Germany is the biggest market served out of Priština. There are dozens of weekly flights out of Priština to a handful of German cities.



The airport’s management won’t be too worried about Air Berlin’s exit. One of the airline’s biggest rivals, Lufthansa’s Germanwings, will fill in the void left by Air Berlin and commence new flights from Cologne, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Hamburg and Munich to Priština. As a result, Germaniwngs will become the airline with the largest network out of the city. These new flights will accompany Germanwigs’ already existing flights to Priština from Berlin, Hanover and Stuttgart. The new flights begin on November 2 and 5. They will compete with Adria Airways which offers direct services from Priština to Frankfurt and Munich. Details for the new flights can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.



Priština Airport has had a strong start to the year. The airport has seen an average passenger increase of 11% in the first half of 2011. Furthermore, the construction of its new terminal has begun. In 2011 Priština Airport handled 1.305.533 passengers. It is now more than certain that it will surpass Ljubljana to become the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia by the end of the year.

New look for Priština Airport

After some delays, the construction of Priština Airport’s new terminal began earlier this week with a ceremony attended by local officials. The investment is worth 120 million Euros and will see the construction of a new terminal stretching over 42.000 square metres, a new control tower, an apron able to accommodate 9 Boeing 737 jets, 3 air bridges, a car park for 1.750 vehicles, a new access road from the city to the airport and the widening of taxiways. The Turkish company running Priština Airport for the next 20 years, the Limak Group, says that the airport intends to handle 4 million passenger per year over the next 2 decades. The group is upbeat about the airport’s construction pace and believes the project can be completed by June 2012 at the latest, despite earlier statements that construction would take 18 months. The new building will be environmentally friendly and will meet all international and IATA standards.

In 2010, Priština Airport handled 1.305.532 passengers, placing it in the top 5 airports in the former Yugoslavia, passenger wise. The airport is continuing to show passenger growth in 2011 as well. Recently, Lufthasa’s low cost airline, Germanwings, announced its newest service to Priština from Munich. Flights will begin on November 02. Details can be found here. Germanwings already operates flights from Berlin, Hanover and Stuttgart to Priština.

New Priština terminal on hold

Construction of Priština Airport’s brand new terminal has been delayed once again. Although work on the new multi million Euro project was supposed to have begun already, nothing except a visualisation of the future building has been placed in front of the existing terminal. The Turkish-French consortium, Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon, which will run Priština’s airport for the next 20 years, promised to begin construction of the new terminal building back in January. However, a delayed handover of the airport to its new management postponed the project the first time around. The price tag for the new terminal is expected to amount to 140 million Euros together with supporting infrastructure.

There is hope that work could begin soon. Priština Airport is one of EX-YU’s biggest airports when it comes to passenger numbers. In 2010 it handled 1.305.532 passengers, placing itself only behind Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana. So far this year the airport is recording a passenger increase of 5%.

With this latest delay, the terminal is now expected to be completed in January 2013.

Opening of Priština Airport in 1965

Priština awaits new terminal

The construction of Priština Airport’s brand new multi million Euro terminal could begin by the end of the month, the airport’s new CEO said last week. The Turkish-French consortium, Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon, which will be running Priština’s airport for the next 20 years promised to begin construction of the new terminal building back in January. However, a delayed handover of the airport to its new management postponed the project. The price tag for the new terminal is expected to amount to 140 million Euros together with supporting infrastructure. The planned investment foresees a 27.000 square meter terminal building, a 77.000 square meter apron and runway, a new traffic control tower, car park facilities with a capacity to accommodate 1.750 vehicles and the refurbishment of airport access roads. If work begins in May, the project should be completed by November 2012.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2011 Priština Airport saw its passenger numbers increase by 5% compared to the same period last year. The number of flights operating out of Priština also increased, up by 11.6%. The airport plans to handle 4 million passengers annually by 2030. In 2010, Priština Airport welcomed a total of 1.305.532 passengers, thus becoming the fourth largest airport in the former Yugoslavia after Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana.

Adria to launch 4 new routes out of Priština

Slovenia’s Adria Airways will be introducing several new seasonal routes from its second base – Priština. Up until now Adria has operated direct flights from Priština to Ljubljana, Frankfurt and Munich. This summer the airline is introducing flights to Brussels, Dusseldorf, Copenhagen and Paris Charles De Gaulle.

On June 2 Adria will launch a 2 weekly service to Brussels (flight details) with its Airbus A319. Flights will operate until September 29. The service will be in direct competition with Jetairfly, which will launch its flights from Brussels to Priština a few days later, on June 10. Adria will also connect Priština with France’s main airport with a 1 weekly service from June 18 to September 17 (flight details), Copenhagen once per week from June 21 to August 9 (flight details) and Dusseldorf, also once per week, from July 16 to September 3 (flight details).

Priština Airport will see several other new seasonal services this summer. Norwegian Air Shuttle will launch flights from Gothenburg and Oslo (flight details), Helvetic Airways from Berne in Switzerland (flight details), while Belle Air Europe will launch a scheduled new service to Stuttgart.

New Priština Airport terminal postponed

The takeover of Priština Airport by the Turkish-French consortium Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon has once again been delayed upon the request of the consortium itself, the daily “Koha Ditore” reports. A 30 day delay has been requested by the consortium. The airport’s new owners were supposed to begin the construction of a brand new terminal in late January, to be completed by June 2012. However, no work on the new terminal has begun. The price tag for the new terminal is estimated at 140 million Euros, together with supporting infrastructure. The planned investments foresee a 27.000 square meter terminal building, a 77.000 square meter apron and runway, a new traffic control tower, car park facilities with a capacity for 1.750 vehicles and fuel tanks and the refurbishment of airport access roads.

Meanwhile, low cost Albanian airline Belle Air, faced with mounting debt, has suspended services to Priština. As a result, Priština no longer has a scheduled service to the Albanian capital. Montenegro Airlines also suspended flights to Priština recently as it faces its own financial problems. However, it’s not all bad news. Jetairfly will commence 2 weekly flights from Brussels to Priština on June 10. Flight details can be found here.

Unpaid debt forces cancellations

Montenegro Airlines unexpectedly operated its final service to Priština and Skopje on Wednesday, after it was revealed the airline owes thousands of Euros to both. Montenegro Airlines’ aircraft was stranded in Priština for seven hours after it failed to receive necessary clearances from local authorities. Radio station Antena M has reported that Montenegro Airlines owes 500.000 Euros to Priština Airport and was allowed to depart only after it deposited 50.000 Euros into the airport’s account.

Montenegro Airlines has denied the claims, saying that the aircraft was delayed due to the late arrival of incoming connecting passengers. However, no airline was late in arriving that morning into Priština. Furthermore, the national airline of Montenegro explains that it has suspended flights to Priština and Skopje due to poor loads. Late last year the airline’s CEO, Zoran Djurišić, said that the airline was doing particularly well thanks to flights from Priština and Niš.

This winter, Montenegro Airlines operated daily flights from Podgorica to both Priština and Skopje. There are currently no plans for the flights to resume in the summer.

New Priština Airport terminal

The Turkish-French consortium Limak Holding and Aeroport de Lyon, which will be running Priština’s airport for the next 20 years, have announced plans for a brand new terminal. Construction of the new terminal is expected to begin by the end of the month, Nihat Ozdemir from Limak told local press. The price tag for the new terminal is expected to amount to 140 million Euros together with supporting infrastructure. The planned investments foresees a 27.000 square meter terminal building, a 77.000 square meter apron and runway, a new traffic control tower, car park facilities with a capacity for 1.750 vehicles and fuel tanks and the refurbishment of airport access roads. Ozdemir believes that the construction of the brand new terminal should be completed within 18 months.

Meanwhile, the low cost airline Jetairfly, from Belgium, has announced that it will commence scheduled flights from Brussels to Priština on June 10. Flights will operate twice per week, every Monday and Friday. Flight details can be found on the right hand side in the new route launches section.