Montenegro moves to create new flag carrier

The Montenegrin government has said it is “working day and night” in order to establish a new national carrier to replace Montenegro Airlines which ceased operations last Friday. However, it has warned the process could take up to nine months and may have an impact on next year’s summer tourist season in the country. Montenegro’s Minister for Finance, Milojko Spajić, said, “We are working day and night on establishing a new airline. We have formed a task group which is dealing with this matter on a daily basis. We expect to establish the airline as soon as possible. However, there are some limitations which are out of our control, such as the time needed to obtain necessary permits and licenses. We will try to make an incentive for some of Montenegro Airlines’ employees to move to the new airline. Whether we will succeed or not remains to be seen. Three ministries are jointly working on establishing this new airline. Our goal is for it to occur by the summer, but it is very difficult to give an exact estimate when the carrier will launch because there are so many variables which we can’t control”. 

The Minister noted the new Montenegrin flag carrier will have to be profitable unlike its predecessor. “We will provide the initial capital in order to establish the new airline. The amount we invest will depend on our calculations. We have put aside up to thirty million euros for the new company in next year’s budget. Of course, we won’t invest all of it, rather, we will rationally think through how much money is realistically needed to establish the airline and which routes will be sustainable. The money we invest into this new company, which are taxpayer’s money, will need to be a sound investment on which we will get a return”, Mr Bojanić said. 

The Montenegrin government will enter into talks with some European airports to which Montenegro Airlines maintained flights in order to retain slots. “We will do our best to keep Montenegro Airlines’ slots at European airports. We will enter into talks with our European partners and their airports. The idea is for the new carrier to simply take over the slots on routes which are deemed viable. The new airline must be sustainable, or it won’t exist. We can’t establish a new company just for the sake of having a carrier, which would operate on the same principles as Montenegro Airlines”, the Minister said. He added, “Concerning Montenegro Airlines’ fleet, the majority of its aircraft is on operational lease. There is one financial lease for an Embraer jet which we will negotiate with the manufacturer and see what happens. Due to the current situation on the market, acquiring new aircraft outright could be more beneficial and cheaper in the long run than financial leases. We are already in contact with consultants which will determine the best way forward”.