Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport expects to handle 500.000 passengers this year “at most” due to the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, it is expected to register its slowest year since 1994. Ljubljana has been impacted not only by the virus but also the bankruptcy of its main customer, Adria Airways, late last year. Flights are slowly resuming to the Slovenian capital, with Lufthansa returning from Frankfurt and Wizz Air from Charleroi this week. They follow Air Serbia and Montenegro Airlines which reinstated operations from their respective hubs earlier on. “We are very pleased that traffic is resuming, especially with larger carriers. However, these figures are far from what we are otherwise used to at this point in the year”, Ljubljana Airport’s General Manager, Zmago Skobir, said. He expressed concern that some airlines might not have enough demand to justify maintaining services to the city during the winter.
Following an almost three-month hiatus, the first flight from Frankfurt to Ljubljana on Monday saw 92 passengers while there were 35 on the return Lufthansa service. Wizz Air handled 97 travellers on its flight from Charleroi, while there were 54 on the way back. However, there were significantly more people booked that simply did not show up for their Wizz flights, which is a trend being seen across the continent. "It's important to note that airlines have downsized, meaning they now have smaller fleets and are looking towards markets that are open, commercially attractive, and where they won't have problems with the consequences of Covid-19", Mr Skobir said.
As a result of the significant decline in traffic, Ljubljana Airport plans to lay off up to 120 employees. “Without such a measure, the company will run into even greater liquidity problems”, the General Manager noted. Unions have requested for any decision over staff dismissals to be delayed until the end of the year when the full impact of the virus can be better assessed. They have also requested for all infrastructure investments to be delayed in order to save money, and in turn jobs. Mr Skobir has said that all non-essential investments, valued at some eight million euros, have been halted, while the construction of the airport’s new passenger terminal is ongoing as it has been deemed necessary for Ljubljana’s long-term development.
This is tragic, basically they risk handling less passengers than Tuzla.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I think Tuzla reopening went very well. All their flights depart, and most of there flights are full. I think Tuzla will at least handle 450.000 pax this year.
DeleteAnon 09:13 I agree, I feel like there is still much potential.
DeleteEveryone will have poor results this year. Not just Ljubljana.
DeleteI think they should do everything they can to get Wizz Air to open a base in LJU.
ReplyDeleteI agree, especially since they are willing to open bases at such short notice
DeleteI can assume that W6 are very hard negotiators now. They can basically ask for anything in this situation
DeleteThey certainly are. They are in a position of absolute power as negotiators now. Varadi himself said they are being begged by airports to start flights.
DeleteI doubt it. If that was true, why would they expand at expensive Belgrad airport where no one begs Wizz to expand and not at those other airports ready to offer deep discounts to Wizz?
DeleteThey are expanding anywhere they see a commercial interest.
DeleteNot true. LJU has plenty of uncontested commercial oportunties. Wizz starting A321 BEG-BCN against both Air Serbia and Vueling is not one of those. Unless "W6 losing money with the goal of kicking competitors out of business" is what you describe as a "commercial interest". But the topic is LJU and why are they unwilling to bring more LCCs for wide open, both inbound and outbound leisure market.
DeleteThe issue is that few airlines can make a profit with an A320 or A321 from Ljubljana on any route. Your personal issues with Wizz Air are really of no concern to me or the topic.
DeleteIf that was the case, I wouldn't have to use one hand to count all of them that do, one of them being Wizz Air.
DeleteCorrect, one of them that can make a profit out of LJU is Wizz. Network-wide and pre-covid, some Wizz routes were not profitable yet they continued to operate them. Not even Varady can deny Wizz could make at least a couple of routes out of LJU work.
DeleteThey should do whatever necessary to do a deal with Wizz to create a base in LJU. Otherwise, things will remain bleak for a very long time ....
ReplyDelete+1 but from Skobir's comments it doesn't seem they are even thinking about it.
Delete^ not necessarily. When they mentioned they were in talks with OU they also mentioned they were taking with a few other airlines too
DeleteWizz opening a LJU base would be such a massive slap in the face for Trieste and Zagreb which have profited so much from LJU's demise or stagnation.
DeleteWell Trieste does not have any wizzair flights at all and Zagreb also. I'm preety sure LJU needs more low cost carriers to bump the numbers up
DeleteRyan operates and it's very convenient airport. Not to forget Treviso.
DeleteI would like LJU to be much more proactive. They were aware a year ago that JP would go bankrupt. They said how they have everything ready when that happens and what have they done? Few LH group flights
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to the Banana King and his plans to relaunch Adria ??
ReplyDeleteThe coronavirus happened which decimated the global aviation industry, making new start ups even more risky and unprofitable then they were before.
DeleteWhat about the government? Any plans for them to set up a national airline?
DeleteYes, 4 Cessnas 172 already ordered and paid for. Still strugling to book LF above 50%.
DeleteAccording to Delo newspaper the director of Solinair has confirmed the idea of creating a passenger carrier, but says there are no decisions yet. The Ministry of Infrastructure said that Solinair was considering a possible expansion of activities to passenger transport.
DeleteI hope LJU will be able to find some sort of solution.
ReplyDeleteWould be interesting to see if they reduced handling fees since they sucked their primary customer dry.
DeleteThose summer charters might give a bit of a boost to numbers.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see that the charters will go ahead after all.
DeleteThe volume of the charters will be significantly lower than last year.
Deleteyou have destroyed national carrier, so this is just logical consequence of that lunatic decision
ReplyDeleteLol
ReplyDeleteThey are talking about liquidity issues but this is Fraport. I would have hoped they would have enough money to provide funds for LJU.
ReplyDeleteFraport has been hit hard too.
DeleteMany countries have helped their airlines but they have completely forgotten airport which are just as impacted by this situation.
DeleteHas fraport received any aid in Germany?
DeleteLJU is now recovering from two things - loss of Adria and Corona. Even if there were no corona, LJU would have had a 40% decline in passenger numbers and a big decline in revenue this year.
ReplyDeleteAgree. This couldn't come at a worse time for LJU as it was trying to recover from Adria's collapse.
Deleterecovering ? we will still have to wait long time until real start of recovering
DeleteLooking at the photo, the new terminal seems to be coming up nicely.
ReplyDeleteIt's supposed to be completed by the end of the year.
DeleteIt's good to see that Windrose seems to be sticking to their LJU flights. They start in 12 days.
ReplyDeleteAre Ukrainians allowed entry into Slovenia?
DeleteIt will be more difficult to attract new airlines in the post covid era.
ReplyDeleteAirports will have to give a lot of incentives and stimulus to attract airlines.
DeleteThe scenery around the airport looks stunning.
ReplyDeletesince there is no air traffic, maybe they can try with hot air balloon tours
DeleteThere is even not regular trans border public bus transport yet: e.g. from the Slovenian coast to Trieste. Current situation si: no regular international bus transport from Slovenia to Italy, Hungary, close to zero to Croatia and Austria.
ReplyDeleteYou can't expect people flying to Ljubljana when even buses are not going abroad.
Fix the rules for international regular bus transport first!
Hopefully more airlines will come with the new terminal.
ReplyDeleteOU basing aircraft in LJU would be beneficial now.
ReplyDeleteAs a possible solution for greater air connectivity in Slovenia, Croatia Airlines is mentioned, which, as the Delo newspaper revealed, would establish a base with a plane or two in Brnik. The Croatian airline is expected to send an offer next week, as it expects a state incentive to fly from Ljubljana. Fraport Slovenija expressed interest in Croatia Airlines connecting Ljubljana with Vienna, Skopje, Prague and Copenhagen.
Deleteairlines and airports will have to take a chill pill first. this thing ain't over yet. new hotspots, countries tightening travel rules. who will you transport where if that entails mandatory quarantine. when there will be (econonomical) demand airlines will come again and fly. until then no sense in subsidising anything, because it is a waste of money.
ReplyDeleteas for fraportSLO, an excellent moment for the germans to caugh up some money for their company, or they can sell back the airport for 1 eur and quit whining. I'm sure everyone will be happy to invest that 1eur as oposed to the JP whiners situation, who couldn't make 1 cent profit out of regular ops.
+1
DeleteI've noticed that Air France plane at the air bridge in Ljubljana for months now. What is it doing there?? (it's in the article picture as well). It seems to be parked.
ReplyDelete