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.

Adria Tehnika counts its losses after Spanair collapse

The owner of Adria Airways Tehnika has announced that the aircraft maintenance company is in serious trouble following the bankruptcy of Spainair, its second largest client. Adria Airways Tehnika, the maintenance division of national carrier Adria Airways, was separated from the airline in January last year and sold to the government owned asset management firm PDP. It owns the company jointly with Ljubljana Airport which took a share in the company in return to writing off Adria’s debt to the airport. Adria Airways Tehnika has already reported poor financial results, which are set to be aggravated by the loss of its second biggest customer after Adria Airways. Spainair accounted for 25 to 30% of the company's revenues.

Spanair ceased operations last week in a surprise move after takeover talks with Qatar Airways failed and the Catalan government, which owns the majority of the Barcelona based airline, refused to come to its aid once again. On Monday the airline filed for bankruptcy. Currently, two of Spanair’s Airbus A320s are in Ljubljana. They were being serviced when the airline announced it was suspending operations. The maintenance work done on the jets has not been paid for. Adria Airways Tehnika is now negotiating with the owner of the Spanair aircraft, ILFC Leasing, to resolve the matter.

Spanair’s bankruptcy will prove as another blow to the already struggling maintenance company. Two years ago Adria Airways Tehnika posted a loss of five million Euros while the loss amounted to one million in 2011. However, this does not include millions of Euros owed by Adria Airways to its maintenance division. As a result, Adria Airways Tehnika plans to sue it main customer. Furthermore, its employees have been receiving only 90% of their pay recently and have not received social security payments. The management of Adria Airways Tehnika has put forward a restructuring plan, the details of which remain unknown.

Photo © Sierra5.net

Farewell Malev

Hungarian national carrier, Malev, has ceased all operations, ending with it services to Belgrade, Zagreb, Priština, Skopje, Sarajevo and Podgorica.

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 and Jat plan for the summer

Adria Airways will be resuming services to Barcelona and Manchester on a seasonal basis this upcoming 2012 summer season, however, ten destinations that were operated last summer won’t make a comeback in the airline’s network. The Slovenian carrier will operate 170 scheduled flights per week to 18 destinations. The only new additions compared to last summer will be the Priština - Verona service and Ljubljana - Luton, which replaces services to Gatwick. The airline will not be resuming flights to Athens, Banja Luka, Dublin, Kiev, Paris, Ohrid, Split, Stockholm, Warsaw and Toulon, which were all featured last year. Adria will once again be operating charter service all summer round to Greece, Malta, Egypt and Turkey, with Greece to see most Adria Airways flights.

Meanwhile, Serbia’s Jat Airways will increase frequencies to many of its destinations as it formulates its preliminary summer timetable. Some highlights include a nonstop service to Brussels, which will now operate separately from the Amsterdam flights. Flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle will operate eleven times per week (up from seven) during the peak summer season, there will be new seasonal flights to London Gatwick Airport while Moscow will see ten weekly flights (up from seven) with an introduction of a late evening service from Belgrade and a morning flight from Moscow. The airline has also made minor readjustments to its new seasonal Pula flights and has moved the service forward by a month from July 2 to June 2.

B&H back to Dusseldorf as Adria moves from Gatwick to Luton

B&H Airlines will be resuming another destination from the past as it plans to launch services to Dusseldorf on June 2. It comes days after announcing it will inaugurate flights to Vienna, Skopje, Stockholm and Gothenburg this summer as well. Flights will operate twice per week, every Monday and Saturday with an Airbus A319. Details can be viewed here.

B&H Airlines has previously flown between the Bosnian capital and Dusseldorf. Flights were launched on May 18, 2009 and suspended on March 15, 2010 due to poor loads. It will be the airline’s first destination in Germany since discontinuing flights to Frankfurt last year. In Germany, the airline has also flown to Cologne, Berlin and Stuttgart in the past. B&H had its last major network expansion in 2009 when, besides Dusseldorf, it inaugurated flights to Podgorica, Vienna, Prague, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Stockholm and Berlin. Most were cancelled within a year, although many are set to see a comeback this summer.

Meanwhile, Adria Airways, which announced its service launch to London Gatwick Airport a few weeks ago, has now decided to move the flights to London’s Luton Airport instead. The Slovenian carrier said that operations to Luton will allow passengers faster rail connections to central London and notes its close proximity to main motorways. It is believed the airline will move operations to Luton because of lower handling fees. Flights will operate four times per week, every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with tickets to be put on sale next week.

Adria to launch London flights in the summer

The Slovenian national carrier Adria Airways has started the year bearing good news. The airline will resume services to London Gatwick Airport during the 2012 summer season, after it was suspended due to low profitability in October 2011. Announcing the route launch on its Twitter account, the news comes as the airline implements the first phase of its restructuring program, which it hopes will bring it back into profitability. The route launch will come as welcome news to passengers, Slovenian tourism and Ljubljana Airport which is in need of more passengers after a disappointing 2011.

As has previously been the case, Adria will have to compete against the low cost easyJet which operates flights to London Stansted Airport. According to inside sources, London was one of Adria’s biggest loss making routes in 2010, with the carrier recording a loss of 1.3 million Euros on the service. In December, the Slovenian public broadcaster, RTV SLO, said that Ljubljana Airport was in talks with easyJet for the airline to increase its frequencies from London next summer. Adria will operate four weekly flights from Ljubljana to London. Flight details are to be revealed soon.

Passenger numbers slide as Ljubljana Airport plans for 2012

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport has announced that it will see a decline in passenger numbers this year compared to 2010. As a result, Slovenia’s main airport will record a third consecutive year of sliding passenger figures. In 2010, the airport handled 1.388.651 passengers, which was down on the crisis hit 2009. During last year the airport was closed as construction work was carried out on its runway, which coincided with the closing of European airspace due to the Icelandic volcano ash cloud, all resulting in sliding passenger volumes. The airport cites Adria’s network cuts as the main reason for its underperformance this year. However, Ljubljana Airport’s problems began well before Adria’s financial troubles escalated. This entire year the airport has only seen passenger growth in the month of April.

On the other hand, the airport has managed to see an increase in profits. Due to Adria’s plan to lease part of its fleet and cut frequencies on some of its routes next summer, Ljubljana Airport expects lower traffic volumes and revenues in 2012, its report states. Still, the airport says that Adria’s decline should be substituted by foreign airlines and charter flights.

Finally, a total of 13.1 million Euros will be invested into Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport next year. Almost 11 million Euros will be spent on construction projects and the rest on equipment. All of the planned investments will be financed through the airport’s own means. The construction of the much anticipated new terminal is set to begin next year, with work set to be completed by 2015.

easyJet dumps Paris service as Ryanair confirms Ljubljana interest

easyJet has announced that it will cancel its service from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik in 2012 with the last flight scheduled to operate on March 1. The suspension will leave easyJet with flights from London Stansted to the Slovenian capital. This comes as bad news for the airport’s management which is trying to secure new services in order for it to overturn its sliding passenger trends. In October, Adria Airways suspended its flights to the French capital citing competition by easyJet as one of the reasons behind the suspension. Air France will come out as the biggest winner as it will be the only airline offering direct flights between Paris and Ljubljana. This winter easyJet is operating two weekly flights between the two cities with an extra weekly service added during the busy Christmas and New Year holiday period.

easyJet has already announced that it will also be suspending its Paris - Zagreb service from March 23. Ljubljana Airport is still hoping for the Russian airline RusLine to commence flights from Moscow. The two weekly service was originally planned to launch on September 1 but the flights never materialised. Ljubljana Airport is currently served by only six scheduled airlines.

Meanwhile, the CEO of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, has confirmed that the airline plans to commence services to Ljubljana next year if the airport lowers its fees. “If Ljubljana Airport were to lower its taxes Ryanair would surely return to Slovenia”. The two sides are locked in talks in order for the no frills airline to launch flights to the Slovenian capital. The airport has proposed for Ryanair to operate flights out of Dusseldorf, Madrid, Oslo and London to Jože Pučnik Airport. In 2007 the no frills airline operated 3 weekly flights from London Stansted to Maribor Airport. The flights lasted 9 months before they were cancelled.

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.

Construction of new terminal begins next year

The new terminal at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport will be opened in May 2015, its CEO, Zmago Skobir says. Construction work is set to begin in 2012. Despite a difficult year for the Slovenian aviation industry, Skobir says that the current 13.000 square metre terminal, built back in 1973, does not have the capacity to handle new passengers. The brand new terminal, which will cost 70 million Euros, will be able to handle 1.800 passengers per hour and will stretch over 31.200 square metres.

Ljubljana Airport also plans to build a small logistics centre in 2013 and a cargo terminal by 2015. The company will try to cover all of its costs itself while the passenger terminal will be financed through a loan from the banks, to be paid off within the next fifteen years. All of the planned investments are part of the major “Aeropolis” project. Slovenian media have recently questioned whether the project will be delayed due to the ongoing Eurozone crisis, however, the airport’s management is adamant that the construction of the new terminal will begin next year.

If all goes to plan the opening of the new terminal should coincide with the opening of rival Zagreb Airport’s new terminal building. Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is likely to lose its position as the third busiest airport in the former Yugoslavia by the end of 2011. The airport is hoping to attract several new airlines to commence flights to the Slovenian capital next year and in turn regain its position in the top thereby the end of 2012.

Numbers down as Ljubljana Airport plans big for 2012

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is expected to end the year with slightly fewer passengers through its doors than in 2010, as it prepares for major investments in 2012.

With the exception of April, Ljubljana Airport has seen its passenger numbers decrease each month compared to last year. During the month of April the airport saw colossal growth of 114%, although the figure is not representative since the airport was closed during the month last year due to a runway overhaul which coincided with the shutdown of European airspace as a result of the Icelandic volcano ash cloud. While the passenger decrease was slight at the beginning of the year, standing at less than one percent or recording exactly the same amount of passengers as last year, as was the case in March, more worrying trends developed in May. By August the airport’s figures fell by 15% while in September numbers were down 5%. Adria Airways’ recent suspension of several key routes won’t aid the airport’s performance. The airport’s CEO, Zmago Skobir, anticipated a fall in passenger numbers and recently said the airport would experience a short term crisis as a result of Adria’s network cuts. In the first nine months of the year Ljubljana handled 1.097.536 passengers. The airport’s best performance was in 2008 when it welcomed 1.673.050 passengers. Due to April's extraordinary performance, Ljubljana shouldn't see a major fall in passengers by the end of the year.

In order to offset the same scenario repeating itself in 2012, the airport is working on attracting several new carriers, mostly low cost airlines, to begin flights to Slovenia’s capital. Talks are being held with Ryanair, Wizz Air, Vueling, IZair and Norwegian Air Shuttle to begin services next year. Also in 2012, the construction of the airport’s new terminal should begin, as well as the construction of a new apron and cargo terminal as part of the “Aeropolis” project. In a recent World Economic Forum report, Slovenia was ranked highest for having the best airport infrastructure out of all of the countries of the former Yugoslavia. It ranked 69th in the world.

Winter changes

The 2011/2012 winter season begins on October 30, 2011 and will last until March 24, 2012.

As has been previously reported, Adria Airways will suspend services to London, Paris, Stockholm and Warsaw from Ljubljana, flights to Dusseldorf from Priština and the Vienna - Frankfurt service. Despite earlier announcements that it would suspend its service to Toulon, the airline just recently decided to keep the flights throughout the winter. Compared to the 2010/2011 winter season, the airline will cut frequencies to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Istanbul and Zurich from Ljubljana as well as Frankfurt from Priština. Flights to Belgrade, Skopje and Moscow will see a frequency increase, with Belgrade up by two flights on last winter, Skopje up by four and Moscow up by one.

Jat Airways will suspend its long running service to Dubai despite significant passenger numbers on the route over the summer season as well as last winter. Since most passengers on the Dubai flights continue to Australia with Emirates, the airline receives additional compensation from the Dubai based carrier for selling its tickets, which in turn covered the flights' operational costs, making the suspension questionable. Flights to Rome, Larnaca and Tivat will see their frequencies reduced with Jat operating only a one daily service to Tivat, down from two daily last winter season. The airline will resume flights to Paphos in Cyprus from November until the end of February with the service from Belgrade operating via Tel Aviv and the return flight operating nonstop. Athens will see a frequency increase. Flights to the Greek capital will be boosted with three additional services although the airline will reduce capacity by operating the ATR72 instead of the Boeing 737-300.

By clicking on the links below, you can view the 2011/2012 winter season changes in more detail. Next Saturday the winter changes for B&H Airlines, Croatia Airlines and Montenegro Airlines will be published.

Adria Airways • Jat Airways

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.

Five new airlines for Ljubljana Airport

After the announcement made last week that several low cost airlines will begin operations to Ljubljana, new details have now been revealed. A total of five new airlines will commence flights to Jože Pučnik Airport by the start of the 2012 summer season. They include Ryanair, Wizz Air, Vueling, IZair and Norwegian Air Shuttle. The new arrivals should replace Adria on several routes the national carrier plans to suspend this coming winter. Talks are underway for Ryanair to begin flights from Dusseldorf and Dublin to Ljubljana while Wizz Air would operate a service from its London Luton base. Furthermore, Vueling should commence flights from Madrid to Ljubljana. Previously, the airline had operated flights to the Slovenian capital out of Barcelona. Talks are ongoing with IZair from Turkey to commence flights from Istanbul while Norwegian Air Shuttle could launch flights from Oslo, a service once operated by Adria.

With the prospect of oncoming competition, Robert Vuga, the Executive Director of Adria Airways says that the national carrier should not be affected. “If the new airlines won’t compete with Adria Airways, then we understand the government and their wish to bring more tourists to Slovenia”. The Government of Slovenia has approved a proposal for subsidies to be given to low cost airlines. Earlier in the year it also approved a 50 million Euro bailout for Adria.

The management of Ljubljana Airport sees the new arrivals as a big opportunity for Slovenian tourism but also as a way to improve its sluggish performance when it comes to passenger numbers this year.

Slovenia most uncompetitive in aviation in EX-YU

The Slovenian Tourism Organisation has revealed that Ljubljana will soon see low cost flights to at least five new destinations fuelling much needed competition. Flights to Italy, Germany, Spain, Scandinavia and Ireland will soon be established with full support from the Slovenian government. The Tourism Organisation has said that operations by low cost airlines will be subsidised in respect to marketing and promotion. Low cost airlines are looking to cash in from the battered and bruised Adria which will be forced to suspend several key routes. Ljubljana Airport is continuing its negotiations with Ryanair, with the no frills airline expected to touch down at Jože Pučnik Airport sometime during the 2012 summer season.

The Slovenian Tourism Organisation is in talks with the Turkish based IZair to replace Adria on its Istanbul route. The Organisation is also hoping that Maribor Airport will be seen as an alternative by some low cost airlines.

Slovenia has been one of the rare European countries where low cost airlines have, for the most part, failed to attract a following. Adria has little competition on most of its routes, while most of the ones it sees competition on, such as Istanbul, London and Paris, are expected to be suspended this winter. According to a study carried out by the World Economic Forum, Slovenia has been rated as one of the most uncompetitive countries in the world when it comes to aviation placing it 116th (out of 139 countries). In the same category amongst the former Yugoslav republics, Serbia scored highest with a rank of 58 followed by Croatia at 60, Macedonia at 107, Montenegro at 108 and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 115 out of 139 countries.

Restructuring begins after Adria bailout

The CEO of Adria Airways, Klemen Boštjančič, has said that the Slovenian state carrier will begin the search for a new owner at the end of March 2012, with the process to be completed by the start of 2013. The comments come a week after the state, together with the country’s banks, bailed Adria from an impending bankruptcy. Boštjančič added that in the next few months the airline will begin a difficult restructuring process which, when completed, will make the airline more attractive to potential investors and partners. The airline cannot be sold in its current state and needs to be partially restructured before any talks with potential new owners can begin. “The restructuring process aims to cut costs and stop the airline from bleeding”, Boštjančič said. He added that Adria has had major problems with its accounting department which has, in the past, distorted the airline’s financial performance by representing losses to be much lower than they actually were.

A new collective agreement for cabin crew will see their wages slashed but should increase productivity, according to the airline’s management. Furthermore, the recently approved aircraft swap deal with Croatia Airlines should see Adria offloading some of its aircraft to its Croatian counterpart in a bid to save money. Adria should announce its destination network cuts this week. Although the airline has for now only confirmed that flights to Warsaw will be discontinued, another eight destinations will also be dumped. It is now believed that these are Paris, London-Gatwick and Istanbul from Ljubljana as well as Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen and Dusseldorf from its Priština base and its Vienna - Frankfurt flights, however this has not been verified by officials from the carrier.

Adria’s fight for survival continues this week

The CEO of Ljubljana Airport, Zmago Skobir, has said that Slovenia’s main airport will survive without its main customer if its heads towards bankruptcy. Skobir states that the airport would experience a short term crisis but its planned investments for 2012 wouldn’t be affected. Next year, the construction of the airport’s new terminal should begin, as well as the construction of a new apron and cargo terminal. “If Adria were to go bankrupt, the airport would experience a 12 month crisis during which it would have to find partners to fill in the void of up to 70% of flights operated from the airport”, Skobir explains.



Last week, officials from Adria Airways met with several banks to which the airline owes millions of Euros. Adria wants the banks to convert their claims to the company into ownership stakes, as envisaged in the restructuring plan report. However the largest bank in Slovenia, Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), has refused to convert Adria’s debt into an ownership stake. Adria is now hoping that it will be able to change NLB’s decision during the week. The Government of Slovenia has said it will provide Adria with a 50 million Euro bailout only if the banks agree to Adria’s proposal. Adria has been urging the banks to convert their debt into ownership stating that it has only enough means to operate flights for another month.



Zmago Skobir from Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport says he is optimistic when it comes to Adria, claiming that Slovenia as a country, as well as the airport and banks, would suffer from its demise. He reminds that there are virtually no countries in Europe that don’t have a national carrier, naming only Macedonia and Slovakia as the exceptions.



If Adria is saved by the banks and the state, as it is widely expected, it will introduce large scale cost cutting measures and will cut up to a third of its destination network which would impact its hub. As a result, Ljubljana is finalising an agreement with Ryanair to commence flights from the Slovenian capital next summer.

Ljubljana negotiates with Ryanair as Adria faces a tough week

Ljubljana Airport’s management is finalising an agreement with Europe’s largest low cost airline Ryanair. Worried that the airport will be hit by Adria’s massive network reduction, the airport has proposed for Ryanair to operate flights out of Dusseldorf, Madrid, Oslo and London to the Slovenian capital. While airports across the former Yugoslavia report a significant passenger surge, Jože Pučnik in Ljubljana saw only a 3% increase in the first 6 months of the year, thus handling 574.740 passengers. Numbers began to slide after February despite the fact that the airport was closed for 2 weeks in April of 2010 for a runway overhaul. Nevertheless, the airport did see an operating profit of 2.1 million Euros, which is up by 78% on last year. Adria Airways is responsible for 74.9% of passengers using Ljubljana Airport.



Ryanair is also conducting talks with other EX-YU airports. There are negotiations under way for the no frills airline to commence flights from Dusseldorf and Frankfurt to Tuzla and flights to Podgorica from London and Glasgow. Flights to Ljubljana are expected to commence in April, at the start of the 2012 summer season.



Meanwhile, it will be a do or die week for Adria Airways. On Wednesday, the airline’s shareholders will decide on a capital injection and a restructuring plan to rescue the indebted flag carrier. Last week, all of the major banks participating in the talks said that they are unlikely to further support Adria. Such a decision, Adria says, will see the airline out of business by October. The restructuring plan entails a fleet, destination and employee reduction. The airline’s network cuts will be announced in September. Short listed for suspensions are flights to Paris, London, Istanbul, Warsaw and Copenhagen. Latest inside information points that the airline is also considering suspending flights to Belgrade and Podgorica.

Ljubljana seeking Adria alternative

Ljubljana Airport has begun talks with the low cost airline Ryanair in fear that Slovenia’s biggest airport will suffer as a result of Adria Airways’ plan to cut up to a third of its flights from the Slovenian capital. The troubled Adria currently holds an 80% share of flights from Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport. Recently, the airport managed to lure RusLine to commence flights from Moscow to Ljubljana. The service was originally planned to commence on August 15, though it has now been pushed back to September 2. According to the Slovenian media, the airport is now in talks with Ryanair which had a short and unsuccessful run in Slovenia. In 2007 the no frills airline operated 3 weekly flights from London Stansted to Maribor Airport. The flights lasted 9 months before they were cancelled. Following Slovenia’s accession to the European Union in 2004, several new airlines commenced flights to Ljubljana but Adria’s dominance saw them cancel their services soon after.



This week, Ljubljana Airport’s Supervisory Board is discussing whether the airport’s CEO, Zmago Skobir, is capable to steer the airport through its upcoming time of crisis. Skobir will be up for re-election for another 5 year term next summer. The airport warned that the construction of a brand new second terminal, to commence in 2012 with a price tag of 50 million Euros, will be affected by Adria’s crisis and states it must find new customers, which is why it is in talks with Ryanair. The airport is also hoping that Air India will make good on its promise to begin flights to Ljubljana in 2012 which will continue onwards to the United States.



Adria Airways has little competition on most of its routes. From September 1 only 7 airlines will have regular scheduled flights to and from Ljubljana, although the airport sees a flurry of charter airlines operating throughout the summer.

Key decisions to be made at Adria

Slovenia’s Adria Airways will announce reductions to its destination network in September, which will take effect from the 2011/12 winter season which begins on October 30. Due to its financial woes, the airline is expected to terminate several destinations. Short listed for the cut are the biggest loss making routes such as Paris, London, Istanbul, Warsaw and Copenhagen. According to the Slovenian daily “Delo”, the airline’s only profitable flights are those to Frankfurt, Zurich, Munich and Brussels, mostly feeder flights for the Lufthansa Group of airlines. According to the same newspaper, Adria is reporting big losses on its charter flights this year. Last year the airline did not make a profit on any of its charter services, making the decision to lease 2 Airbus A320s this year incomprehensible.



The next few weeks will be of great importance for Adria with a decision on its future financing and shareholder structure to be made. Furthermore, a decision on how to distribute state aid and bank loans, as well as implement cost cutting measures will be made on August 31. The extent of Adria’s financial problems were made public late last year which was followed by a complete change in management. The Slovenian Government has stressed the importance of Adria to the Slovenian economy. Passenger wise Adria had a good start to the year with solid growth. However, passenger numbers have begun to slip over the summer.