Airlines and airports shift to winter operations

The 2017/18 winter season begins today and will run until March 25 of next year, signalling changes for both the national carriers of the former Yugoslavia, as well as airports across the region.

Adria Airways will operate a total of 196 scheduled weekly flights, serving seventeen destinations. The carrier will inaugurate operations to Kiev this evening, which it will serve three times per week. In comparison to the previous winter, Adria has increased the number of flights from Ljubljana to Copenhagen, Moscow, Paris, Podgorica, Prague, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Tirana, Vienna, and Zurich. The airline said, "The new timetable means that passengers can now travel to various European destinations via Ljubljana in almost the same amount of time that a direct flight would take". Apart from the new Kiev service, Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport will also boast Transavia flights to Amsterdam, which were launched this summer. The airline will double frequencies on the route next February. Ukraine's Windrose Airlines has also scheduled the launch of its Kiev - Ljubljana service in mid-December, however, the flights are yet to be put on sale. On the other hand, VLM Airlines, which is based at Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport, has delayed plans to introduce flights to Belgrade and Zurich.

Air Serbia will today suspend operations between Belgrade and Abu Dhabi and will make several frequency cuts across its network. However, it will also maintain four weekly flights to Venice, which were launched this summer. Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport will see a 3.6% increase in the numbers of operated flights, with a total of 910 return services planned during the height of the winter season. Airlines which will be increasing their operations to the Serbian capital when compared to last winter include Flydubai, Qatar Airways, TAROM Romanian Airlines, easyJet and Wizz Air, while Aegean Airlines, Alitalia and LOT Polish Airlines will boost capacity. Airlines that launched services to Belgrade over the summer and will maintain operations during the winter season include Atlasglobal, Hainan Airlines and Transavia. Niš Constantine the Great Airport will bid farewell to Germania Flug, which will terminate its service from Zurich, however, Swiss International Air Lines will continue to maintain flights between the two cities this winter. Furthermore, Ryanair will introduce flights from Stockholm Skavsta to Niš next Tuesday.

Croatia Airlines will be offering more flights than last winter, with additional departures from Zagreb to Copenhagen, and services to Barcelona and Lisbon, which will be maintained for part of the season. However, it will reduce its operations to London Heathrow. Zagreb Airport will see Eurowings, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Lufthansa and LOT Polish Airlines increase their operations when compared to last winter. Emirates, which launched flights to the Croatian capital this summer, will maintain operations throughout the winter, while Brussels Airlines and ČSA Czech Airlines will halt their services to the city until next summer season. Meanwhile, Dubrovnik Airport will boast flights to both Barcelona and Rome this winter with Vueling extending its seasonal operations to year-round flights. In addition, Turkish Airlines will increase frequencies on its Istanbul - Dubrovnik service.

Sarajevo Airport will welcome a new four weekly service from Doha operated by Qatar Airways this winter season. Furthermore, both Adria, Flydubai and Turkish Airlines will boost frequencies on their flights to the Bosnian capital. Flydubai will also commence seasonal operations from Sarajevo to Podgorica, in addition to its existing service from Dubai. Atlasglobal, Wizz Air and Wataniya Airways, which launched services to Sarajevo this summer, will maintain their flights over the winter months. On the other hand, Austrian Airlines plans to reduce its flight offering to the city. This winter, Skopje Alexander the Great Airport will offer new flights launched by Wizz Air earlier this year. Furthermore, Adria Airways will increase its frequencies on services between the Slovenian and Macedonian capitals. Pristina Airport, meanwhile, is not expecting new arrivals this season, although Adria will boost frequencies to Ljubljana, while Turkish Airlines will operate an additional weekly flight from Istanbul for a total of eleven.