The year ahead

Following on from a busy year for airlines and airports in the former Yugoslavia, 2018 is shaping up to be another eventful one for the aviation sector. The following are some of the highlights which have been confirmed and scheduled to take place over the next 365 days.

The year will start off with an announcement of the winning bid for the 25-year concession of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. Initially, the decision was due to be made on December 25, then on December 29, before being moved to January 5, unless delayed again by the Public Body overseeing the concession. On March 15, Dubrovnik Airport is scheduled to complete work on the overhaul of its runway and taxiways as part of a major 115 million euro expansion, which will take place throughout 2018. Other airside improvements to come during next year include the construction of two new rapid exit taxiways, the expansion of the western apron, as well as the construction of a new commercial aviation apron on the western side, a new east apron for general aviation and the development of aircraft maintenance and operation facilities, in addition to hangars.

Adria Airways will launch six new routes starting March 25

The first quarter of the year will be topped off by the start of Adria Airways' network expansion, which will include the launch of six new routes starting March 25. Adria's Chief Commercial Officer, Christian Schneider, said, "2018 will be key for Adria Airways and this is why we are happy to follow our growth strategy, and for summer 2018 we will announce new destinations out of Ljubljana. We will start flying to Hamburg, Geneva, Dubrovnik, Sofia, Otopeni [Bucharest] and Brač. This is good for the market and is good for the customer, because it gives more variety and more choice. We have seen the demand already in 2017 and this is why we believe that 2018 will be good for the market". Meanwhile, the Serbian government has announced the opening of Kraljevo's Morava Airport towards the end of the first quarter. "If all goes to plan, we expect for Kraljevo to handle its first commercial aircraft by the end of March in 2018", the Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure said. The government has previously failed to meet set deadlines for the opening of the airport in Central Serbia.

Air Canada Rouge will commence flights to Zagreb on June 2

The second quarter of 2018 will be an exceptionally busy one for airports and airlines in the former Yugoslavia. Start-up FlyBosnia is set to launch operations. The carrier has been established by the Al Shiddi Group, a Saudi Arabian investment and development company which also runs the Sarajevo City Center - a business complex, hotel and shopping mall in the Bosnian capital. FlyBosnia noted it is currently formulating its business plan and will unveil more to the public in due course at a press conference. In May, the Croatian government is due to select a new CEO for its national carrier. On May 11, leisure airline TUIfly will launch six new routes to Podgorica and one to Tivat in the biggest expansion by a foreign carrier in Montenegro for decades. This will be followed on June 2 by Air Canada Rouge, which will commence four weekly seasonal summer flights between Toronto and Zagreb with its Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, becoming the second airline to serve the route alongside Air Transat.

Construction of Ljubljana Airport's new terminal begins in October

During October, the construction of Ljubljana Airport's new passenger terminal will begin. The new facility, valued at sixteen million euros, will allow for the airport to handle 1.280 passengers per hour, up from the current 500, and will feature a total of 22 check-in desks, five security lanes, a large duty free shop, commercial space, as well as a new premium lounge. The building will stretch over an area of 8.700 square metres. A new 2.000 square metre baggage sorting facility will also be built. Over in Macedonia, Turkish Airlines will deploy its brand new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft on flights to Skopje from October 28, thus becoming one of the first cities in the carrier's network to be served by the 151-seat jet.

Work on Belgrade Airport's new control tower begins in the fourth quarter

The construction of Belgrade Airport's new control tower will begin in the fourth quarter of the year. Located next to the existing air traffic control centre, opened in 2010, the new four-level control tower will be 75 metres tall. A two-level flight control centre will also be built and linked to the tower. The structure will be completed and operational within a year. Meanwhile, Sarajevo Airport is projected to handle its millionth passenger for the first time in a single year either in November or December.

New Rijeka-based Airways Europe set to launch during 2018

The coming year will also see the Macedonian government start tender procedures for a three-year contract to stimulate the launch of new routes by low cost carriers. The previous contract, won by Wizz Air in 2015, included financial support for each new destination amounting to 40.000 euros, followed by an additional thirteen euros for each departing passenger in the first year of operations, twelve in the second and eleven euros in the third year of operations. Meanwhile, Europe's first modern scheduled seaplane service, Croatia’s European Coastal Airlines (ECA), which discontinued operations in 2016, plans to resume flights in 2018 under new ownership and a new name. Airways Europe, to be based in Rijeka, will unveil more of its plans early next year. Furthermore, Rijeka Airport itself is set to get a revamp during 2018 with upgrades to the passenger terminal and apron valued at 2.6 million euros.

Sarajevo Airport's expanded terminal to take shape in 2018

The multi million euro expansion of Sarajevo Airport's passenger terminal will continue in 2018, which will result in an additional 10.000 square metres of space spread across four levels. Its construction will be completed in 2019. On the other hand, the Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services Agency will put into operation an instrument landing system (ILS) at Niš Airport during 2018. The equipment provides guidance to aircraft approaching and landing on a runway during low ceilings or reduced visibility due to fog, rain or snow. Furthermore, a 3.5 million euro expansion of Niš Airport's terminal building is scheduled to commence during 2018.