Ljubljana Airport project begins!

100 million Euro project begins at Ljubljana Airport

Despite the recession, the mass project which will see the transformation of Ljubljana’s Jože Pučnik Airport has begun. The project begins with the overhaul of the airport’s runway and the widening of the existing apron. On June 11, 2009 when the work on the runway began, the airport announced that it will be disabling the ILS landing system. The work on the runway is carried out from midnight until the early morning hours so there is no disruption to air traffic. However, in case of fog (rare at this time of year), the airport announced, airlines will be rerouted to Maribor or other nearby airports. The runway project will be carried out in 3 phases with the first one already underway. The first phase began on June 11 and will last until June 23. The second phase will last from June 30 to July 15. The third and final phase will take place in the second quarter of next year. During the first and second phases, the runway will be shortened. This will not endanger the safety of air traffic. The airport announced that during some of the later stages of the runways overhaul, evening flights might be rerouted to Maribor (Slovenia’s second international airport), although a bus shuttle services will be provided to Ljubljana. Another major project, the widening of the apron, is also currently taking place. The total cost of these two projects amounts to 14 million Euros.

The two projects mentioned above are only a small part of the massive 100 million Euro development at Ljubljana’s Airport. The greatest portion of this sum (over 50 million) will be spent on a new terminal, scheduled to be opened in late 2011. The new terminal, which will have a capacity of 3 million passengers annually, will form the core of Ljubljana’s Airport City. Airport City will be opened in 2015. The business and logistics centre will offer infrastructure for tourism, warehousing, logistics and other commercial services. Airport City will also feature a business hotel with more than 150 rooms. It will be operated by the Residor Group, a renowned hotel operator. The hotel will open its doors in autumn of 2010. At the moment the airport has no railway link to the city but Ljubljana Airport management expects that in a few years time, passengers will be able to travel by train from the capital directly to the airport. The only other city in the Ex-Yu region which has its own Airport City is Belgrade, with most of the multi million Euro project already complete. Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is used by a total of 10 scheduled airlines (only 1 of which is low cost). Except for Zagreb, the airport is connected to all former Yugoslav capital cities by air.