Macedonia in talks over new airlines and routes

The head of the Macedonian Civil Aviation Agency, Goran Jandreoski, says the government is in talks with airlines over the introduction of two new "attractive" routes from Macedonia, which should launch next year if negotiations prove successful. Mr Jandreoski stopped short of disclosing the names of the carriers due to confidentiality reasons but noted that the state is trying to encourage companies already flying to either Skopje and Ohrid to expand their offering by providing consumers with a greater variety of nonstop destinations to and from Macedonia. "In the interest of not disclosing information about the negotiations that are being conducted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, since they are still in the working phase, I cannot provide additional details about these new routes. We are discussing two new attractive destinations. With our joint efforts, I hope we will be able secure these two for next year", Mr Jandreoski told the Macedonian Information Agency.

LOT Polish Airlines and Turkey's Onur Air recently held talks with the government over the possible introduction of flights to either Skopje or Ohrid. Furthermore, Transport Minister Goran Sugareski met with the Israeli Ambassador to Macedonia, where the two discussed the establishment of flights between Tel Aviv and Skopje. Earlier this month, Aegean Airlines announced it would launch services between Athens and the Macedonian capital next year, while both Nordica and Brussels Airlines have scheduled new seasonal flights to Ohrid for the 2018 summer season. Concerning the upcoming winter months, Mr Jandreoski noted, "Generally, there is no major increase in destinations, with exception to the increase in the number of Wizz Air operations to destinations such as London, Basel and Malmo".

The head of the Civil Aviation Agency noted that a new local airline has recently registered for a permit for the transportation of passengers and goods from Macedonia. However, the process is yet to be completed in its entirety. Mr Jandreoski said in a previous interview that stimulating foreign airlines to launch flights to the country has paid off. "I have to emphasise that the government's strategy to subsidise certain flights to Macedonia has generated outstanding results. On the one hand, it significantly increased the number of people travelling from and to the country, and, on the other, it increased mobility amongst Macedonian citizens", Mr Jandreoski noted.