Low cost carrier Ryanair has announced it will discontinue flights between Weeze and Niš at the start of the 2019 summer season, following on from Wizz Air's decision to cancel services from Eindhoven earlier this year, as well as flights from Malmo from January 2019. It comes as the airport registered 29.855 passengers in October, down 6.6% on the same month last year. In a statement, Ryanair said, "Following commercial and operational analysis, the route between Niš and Dusseldorf (Weeze) is being cancelled as of the 2019 summer season. Our Niš passengers can use one of our other flights from the airport to Berlin, Bratislava, Milan, Bergamo and Stockholm".
Critics believe the latest suspension is linked to the government's controversial takeover of the airport in August this year and the dismissal of its former management. Since then, Wizz Air is the only airline to have launched a new route to Niš (from Vienna), however, these flights were announced as early as January. The route has also been downgraded recently. Services between Vienna and Niš will run twice per week until February 14, after which they will be increased to three weekly. Initially, flights were to operate three times per week for the entire winter season with an Airbus A321 aircraft. In terms of equipment, the Vienna - Niš service is being operated with an A320, with the A321 used only during the route's first week of operations and selected weeks in November and December. From mid-February, one weekly flight will operate with the A321 and the other two with the A320.
Niš Airport's former management recently said it was in the final stages of negotiations for Turkish Airlines to launch services from Istanbul, Ryanair from Athens and Wizz Air from Paris, however, none of these have materialised under the airport's new, state-imposed, leadership. The airport itself noted that the rising price of fuel has made airlines more reluctant to introduce new routes to the city. Constantine the Great Airport's low three euro tax for handling, landing and passenger services, which is credited for attracting the likes of Wizz and Ryanair, remains in force. The Serbian government has admitted that under an agreement with the French concession and construction company VINCI, passenger figures will be confined to one million for each airport in the country within a 230 kilometre radius of Belgrade until Nikola Tesla Airport reaches twelve million travellers per year. However, the government argues it is unlikely for any secondary airport to get to this figure before the country's busiest achieves its target.
Nis fairy tale is over :(
ReplyDeleteWe said it already, there is no need for INI as there is SKP, SOF and PRN right next door. Close the airport and end its agony.
ReplyDeleteAgony? It will have over 350,000 passengers this year.
DeleteIn that case you should close Ohrid, Osijek, Brač, Mostar, Banja Luka, Mali Lošinj and Rijeka. All have fewer passengers then Niš.
DeleteWhy Osijek? Airport is booming and if things stay like this it will overtake INI soon.
DeleteWhat do you guys think is the next route to be suspended? LX?
Wow. What a disgusting comment 9.11.
DeleteConsidering Eurowings suspended flights from Cologne and Stuttgart to Osijek recently I wouldn't be celebrating and wishing other airlines to cancel flights to other airports.
Delete@9.11
DeleteYes you are right. That's why Swiss has 3 weekly flights scheduled to Nis next summer and 21 weekly to Belgrade next summer. How many of them does Osijek have again?
Anon 09.14
DeleteThey really have? I didn't know they suspended OSI flights. :O
Was it reported on here? So is OSI only left with W6 now?
The Eurowings flights have become seasonal.
DeleteSKP:INI 3:0, sad but true
DeleteDidn't Skopje loose two Wizz Air routes this winter?
DeleteSkopje should be competing against Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Podgorica... not Nis!
DeleteYes, W6 has turned Vaxjo and Barcelona flights into summer seasonal, same with OHD-LTN.
DeleteWith the subsidies mess going on let's see what happens next year.
Similar to INI, SKP is also frozen as ice. Not a sole destination launched during the last 2 years.
DeleteThe catchment area is quite densly populated and within 300km there are many airports: SOF, PRN and SKP. Not to mention that BEG is not extremely far from INI neither.
The Sofia-Niš Kalotina motorway will be constructed most likely by 2020 and this will further boost the figures.
The sole airport in the region with serious growth is PRN with no doubt.
All those are challenges for Niš.
Why is LX flying to INI such a problem for a "region"?
Delete"Not a sole destination launched during the last 2 years" o_0 on which planet are you living?
DeleteSkopje should be competing with Ljubljana?
DeleteWhat? Are people going to drive to LJU to take a flight instead of SKP? Do you know what airport competition is about?
You should compete against similar sized airports. Not a regional airport that started having traffic a year and a half ago.
DeleteYou tell us which...since Feb 2017 nothing new was announced by Wizz. We only witnessed QR who then reduced frequencies.
DeleteSKP also needs to catch up with PRN now instead of constantly looking at INI's patio.
There was also LO and A3 but Aegean launched flights because of politics.
DeletePRN has 27 destinations , SKP has 42 destinations
Deletewell SKP and INI fight for the very same passangers and have 100% overlapping routes. Hence, they are direct competitors. And not LJU!
DeleteSKP does not have LX, INI does.
DeleteEdelweiss is the LCC brand of LX just like FZ is of EK for example.
100% with routes yes but not with airlines.
SKP does not have FR.
LOL because people care if it is LX or Edelweiss :D
DeleteOf course they do. That's like saying people don't care if they wear a YUMCO suit or a Gucci one.
DeleteMany flights from INI are operated by Edelweis so stop with this INI has LX nonsence.
Delete*i meant Helvetic
DeleteBut it does have LX. Don't understand why it bothers you so much.
DeleteINI is mostly a C-series destination in winter. Helvetic sends the E90 from time to time, not F100 so it's ok especially since it has LX product onboard.
DeleteSkopie is not really into attracting primary carriers as it is focused mainly on tertiary LCC destinations. Very good examples include: VXO, FDH, BVA, HHN and the list goes on.
DeleteGiven the small size of Nis, at least it as Vienna and Zurich to start with. Both primary airports in Europe.
aha ok
DeleteMy question is whather this is strictly related to the new management or the fact that there is simply a lack of demand.
ReplyDeleteFery few people have a answer to that question. My idea idea is thar after initial boom there must come rationalization.
DeleteGoverment didn't change the price, so it is very likely that this would also happen under old mamagement
True but the old management was much more proactive in talking to a bringing in new airlines. The new one has no clue what it's doing and are hoping that some airline notices them and comes to them.
DeleteSuch a shame they replaced the management as we would have had Turkish and new W6 and FR routes to Nis.
ReplyDeleteAt least Swiss is not going anywhere.
ReplyDeleteone of the two flights is flown by Helvetic
DeleteUnder LX flight nr.
DeleteHelvetic operates many LX flights and will be operating even more in the future.
Deletehttps://www.traveldailynews.com/post/swiss-and-helvetic-airways-expand-their-collaboration
isnt it cheaper?
DeleteA sad day for INI.
ReplyDeleteGreat news for BEG and Belgrade Airlines!!!
ReplyDeleteWhile you may be sarcastic, it goes to show that they have managed to survive Ryanair on the Dusseldorf flights, even though all of you were saying the opposite when Ryanair launched the route.
DeleteThe situation isn't as great in BEG. Flights to Iran, China, Hamburg have been stopped and most likely Red Wings will be the next leaver.
DeleteSerbija must act fast and stop protecting JU that much.
Not only is JU surviving but is also enhansing its profitability.
DeleteBravo!
Unbeliavable.
DeleteThis winter is going to be the busiest one in history of BEG.
Just watch and do not worry.
Who is protecting JU? All these airlines can fly as they wish. When flights from Iran and China were launched you were the one screaming that they are political routes and will be suspended. Hamburg was actually operated by JU (once per week - big loss).
DeleteI'm not concerned with so many airlines announcing increases in frequencies for next summer. And the plans by JU for next summer will only further annoy you and make your 'concern' even greater.
GoS is protecting both BEG and most importantly JU.
DeleteINI is being limited because of the fears it will reach 1 million and take away the traffic from BEG.
Now GoS did a good job by axing 2 more routes from INI : MMX and NRN by spring.
What a pity, what a real real pity. Instead of having healthy, domestic competition we give the entire privelage to Belgrade and Belgrade Airlines.
Are you for real? Do you hear yourself? You think government called Wizz Air and Ryanair and told them to cancel the two routes. Get serious.
DeleteIndeed and it's really really not fair! GoS knew that INI has POTENTIAL and it was taken away from it. People went out to the streets for days and all those protests were precisely becauseof this!! Why ruin something that was meant to work? Why prevent the southerners to fly for less money and avoid the capital?
DeleteBecuase of this, we will never see FR or W6 new routes.
I hope you don't touch the Vienna route!
So you are telling me the government called Ryanair and Wizz air to suspend two routes. They chose these two in particular? How old are you?
DeleteBEG new routes new continents new Irans new Chinas and nothing for INI! :(
DeleteReally selfish way and act of GoS. They made Vladica Djurdjanovic resign...
@ 10.38 It is obvious the guy is trolling and it is more than obvious the guy is not from Serbia either.
DeleteDon't forget Air France is coming to Belgrade, plus Aeroflot's third, Swiss' third and Lufthansa's fifth daily flight.
DeleteAF is not coming to BEG, stop trolling.
DeleteINI has reached its limits.
ReplyDeleteHopefully INI trolling will become quieter now
ReplyDeleteMajor win for ASL!
ReplyDeleteHardly drama. 3 routes in 2 years. We may see new flights from Nis soon.
ReplyDeleteLX said they are considering adding more flights next summer. I hope they do as it helps with connectivity from NA.
DeleteWell, if it were BEG then its not drama, but for an airport like INI it is drama
DeleteWell it will be interesting to see if Rynaiar's Bratislava route can survive considering they are competing against Wizz Air's new Vienna flights.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's time for W6 to think of bringing back EIN flights.
Deleteim curious here too. Wizz have won Dortmund-Weeze
DeleteThere is need for INI , it is for sure. But, we need to be realistic and not to expect this airport to grow with the percentage it had last year.
ReplyDeleteI said on the beginning of this year that 370.000 passengers in 2018 should be achieved and INI will not be far from it.
Taking in consideration that the taxes have not been increased we all sometimes overestimate the influence of GoS. They simply cannnot control companies like W6 or FR to reduce the flights to INI if these companies can earn good money in INI they will not stop flying there.
And opposite
Wizz i Ryanair već imaju dovoljno svojih problema kao što su stalno promenljive cene goriva, Brexit i manjak pilota. Ovo što se od proleća dešavalo sa aerodromom je jako ružno ispalo i svakako nije stabilnost i sigurnost koju kompanije traže i šalje lošu poruku i to je jedan od razloga što nema novih letova. Druga stvar je što smo siromašni. Leteo sam i iz Sofije i iz Niša više puta i neuporedivo je koliko više kupuju u avionu bugari. Za prodaju parfema kad se leti iz/za Niš nikada ni ne prolaze, prodaju se najčešće flašice vode...
ReplyDeleteСлажем се да је становништво на југу знатно сиромашније али мени је и даље нејсано како су тако флегматични када је у питању, на пример Београд, где су куповна моћ и генерално потенцијал знатно већи.
DeleteКао што сам већ једном написао, мислим да је Визер преокупиран западном Европом где су праве паре. Баш из тог разлога секу и игноришу ова наша... скромнија... тржишта.
Ево тек су недавно објавили ширење мреже у Кракову. Мислим да је то прва већа екпсанзија на истоку после сигурно две године.
Ne zaboravite cinjenicu da Nis uglavnom koristi dijaspora a oni zasigurno nisu na prosjackom stapu.
DeleteMozda je jednostavno stvar kulture ili navike kupovati u avionu ili ne.
Bugari kupuju tu konfekciju na letu??
DeleteBukvalno se ne secam kada sam video nekog da uradio BoB (buy on board) izuzev hrane/pica/interneta
If reason for Niš huge cancellations are lack of passengers because of "poor citizens" why than Wizz opened 3 new routes from Priština, Germania 2 new routes, Orange2fly 3 new routes, and so many airlines increase frequencies (easyJet to Basel and Berlin, Edelweiss to Zurich, Adria to Frankfurt, Pegasus to Istanbul, Wizz to London, Germania to Zurich). Kosovo for sure is not reacher the Niš area, and Niša and Priština are concentrate of diaspora.
DeleteCan you tell me what are these HUGE cancellations.
Delete3 routes canceled out of 10, and just one new route, so result is -2 out of 10, what is 20% and 20% is huge!
DeleteI think it's a matter of time that INI will recover.
ReplyDeleteAll of these routes had a good LF but obviously the yields just weren't there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Zorana and AV
ReplyDeleteRyanair not have been considering SKP-ATH makes me angry :D (nothing to do with INI)
ReplyDeleteWe told you 100 times. INI and SKP need to e connected to KBP!!
DeleteHas ILS been installed at INI?
ReplyDeleteDon't think so.
DeleteI think Istanbul would have been very popular if it happened. The Serbian diaspora in turkey have strong ties to raska region. I hope TK eventually do launch these flights to INI.
ReplyDeleteI think Pegasus from SAW might be the best option.
DeletePegasus would offer connection possibilities but Turkish would be by far better solution.
DeletePegasus would make a lot of sense since they don't fly to SOF.
DeleteForget about SAW, bring on Pobeda, please.
DeleteUnder current bilateral, Turkish carriers are fully utilising their allocations. The only way they can launch INI flights, is to reduce their current BEG flying and switch it to INI - which I can't see happening ...
Deleteinteresting... so the reports above that Turkish wanted to fly to INI must been false
DeleteNo because what anon at 11.51 wrote is not true really. The bilateral isn't being enforced at all. It's enforced only when it suits one side or the other. No one would have an issue with Turkish flying to Nis, especially since Air Serbia does not fly to IST and there would hardly be any transfers from Nis.
DeleteTK flies to several secondary cities in Eastern Europe not only capitals:
DeleteRomania: OTP & CLJ
Bulgaria: SOF & VAR
Ukraine: KBP, ODS, KHE, LWO
Next:
Serbia: BEG & INI
TK flies to Constanta in Romania.
DeleteThey also fly to Kharkov and Zaporizhie in Ukraine. That's six destinations in total.
Delete*seven
Deletewho knows if FR keep BTS with W6 flights to VIE kicking off
ReplyDeleteif i was them i would move the BTS flights to BEG
Delete+1 last anon
DeleteBTS is the next candidate
DeleteWonder how the italian routes are performing, any loads?
Niš ne da subvencije,cene goriva su skočile za 70% i rezultat je očekivan. Nadam se da će AS iskoristiti priliku i najzad krenuti sa letovima za Niš. S obzirom da je ruta domaća može legalno biti subvenisana i recimo leteti Bg-Niš u drugom i četvrtom talasu.
ReplyDeleteGde su cene goriva skočile 70%?
DeleteU avio saobraćaju
DeleteAnd that price of petrol is reason why Priština gets 8 new routes and increase of frequencies on 7 routes?
DeleteПриштина also had many reductions and cancellations in recent times. We will have to see how these perform and how long they last. Don't forget that JU and JP also grew very fast until one day they didn't.
DeletePriştine is not only a Kosova star, but the best performer of 2019.
Deletei shkëlqyer!!
Best performer of 2019? It's still 2018.
DeleteLOL
DeleteLOL. Podgorica has a bigger growth in 2018.
DeletePRN will be the fastest growing airport in 2019. Germania expansion, Wizz expansion and possibly British Airways to Gatwick in late 2019.
DeleteThe difference in traffic compared to Dubrovnik will be less and less by 2022.
13:47
DeleteWhile this is probably true, in 2018 they will drop a spot and end up behind SKP.
Good luck with visa liberalization though, you might need it with what's happening these days.
As mentioned before, Приштина had many routes dropped in the past so let's see how long these last. I was pretty shocked Paris failed. I guess only gasterbajter destinations work.
DeletePristina had huge growing each and every year. Even after Belavia stop operation. Never had decline especially not 20%. It is not problem that some routes are canceled and other opened, but in Niš we just have minus.
DeleteBelavia?
DeleteAnd how do you "just have minus" in Nis when fligjts from Vienna were launched last week?
-13.7% in 2013
DeleteWhat the hell is "Приштина"?
DeleteGoogle it.
DeleteI googled it, still dont understand that language tho.
DeleteYour problem.
DeleteI really dont understand it bro, i was just courious to know which city you meant.
DeleteI guess it shall remain a mystery to you.
DeleteWell i have to live with that i guess.
DeleteYup, you know what they say, ignorance is bliss so enjoy it. :)
DeletePristine or Приштина or even written in Hebrew won't change the fact, that it will be Yugoslavia's 5th busiest airport next year if SKP fails to attract new LCC or get daily Aeroflot like the rest of capitals.
DeleteJust imagine if the visas are liberated...it will reach SPU and even Zagrab.
Yeah ok.
DeleteBTW, it's time for medicine!
ReplyDeleteExpecting INI to have double its performance annually or to become a regional Hub is non sense. 10 destinations seem normal for a city with 2-300 thousand people and with several established Airports in less than 200km radius!
What about EIN, DTM, CGN, DUS? They are all very close to each other too? Why didn't you say anything about them?
Delete¡And 300 thousand is not a small figure, this is size of Ljubljana or Debrecen for example!
That's the issue. Comparing Nish to Cologne, or Einhoven. Ridiculous.
DeleteNish also can't be compared to Ljubljana for a thousand reasons.
INI has this much capacity why make a fuss about it. You should be happy you have it there.
Soon both W6 and FR will announce new flights, even another operator is expected to arrive. So there are not any bad news about canceling routes that were not profitable. Get prepared haters!
ReplyDeleteHow can a service with nearly90% sold seats not be profitable ?
ReplyDeleteI never bought tickets out of Niš for more than 20€ per leg. That's why. Last winter I flew to NYO for 40€ return. This month to BGY for 25€ return.
Delete