Record September for Pristina and Skopje

The airports in Pristina and Skopje have registered their best September figures to date, with both eying a busy winter season ahead. The gap between the two is now closing with Pristina still ahead of its Macedonian counterpart.

Pristina Airport continued its growth streak in September by handling 147.357 passengers, an improvement of 8.9% on 2015. The number of operated flights also grew, totalling 1.179. It represents an increase of 7.4%. As a result, the airport has now handled 1.349.880 passengers in 2016, up 10.9%. This October, Pristina will benefit from the introduction of easyJet’s new service from Paris, however, at the same time, Croatia Airlines will terminate its flights from Zagreb. At this point, a total of sixteen carriers plan to maintain operations to 22 destinations from Pristina this winter season, which begins on October 30.

Germania will offer the most seats during the winter months, accounting for 20.5% of total capacity or 154.892 seats. It is followed by easyJet with 112.896 seats or 15% of capacity, Swiss International Air Lines and Edelweiss Air with 12.5% of capacity and Eurowings, which will offer 8.5% of total capacity or 66.060 seats. Adria Airways, which boasts a base in the city, will add an additional two weekly flights to Frankfurt. On the other hand, Turkish Airlines will reduce frequencies between Istanbul and Pristina by four weekly flights, although Pegasus will add an additional two services for a total of six per week between the two cities. Furthermore, Eurowings will suspend its Berlin – Pristina route, while SAS Scandinavian Airlines will discontinue flights from Copenhagen.

Meanwhile, Skopje Airport continued to outperform its counterpart in Pristina by handling 152.519 passengers in September, an increase of 4.5%. However, Pristina is still ahead once annual figures are taken into account, with Skopje welcoming 1.258.967 travellers during the first three quarters, an increase of 15.3% compared to 2015. Later this month, Wizz Air will introduce its new service to Hanover, however, Swiss International Air Lines will suspend its flights from Geneva. Istanbul maintains its position as the busiest route out of Skopje, operated by both Turkish Airlines and Pegasus. It is followed by Zurich, operated by Belair, Edelweiss, Helvetic Airways and Germania Flug on a charter basis, Vienna, which is run by Austrian, then Malmo, Basel and London, which are all maintained by Wizz Air.