Ljubljana Airport prepared to resume Ryanair talks

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik has said it is willing to resume discussions with low cost carrier Ryanair, confirming that talks have taken place between the two sides in the past. It comes as the budget airline continues to expand out of nearby Zagreb Airport, from which it will introduce its 24th route today. Speaking to the “Finance” daily, the General Manager of operator Fraport Slovenija, Babett Stapel, said, “We have already held talks [with Ryanair] and we are ready to continue them. We welcome all airlines that fit into our business model”. Slovenia is the only European Union-member state from which Ryanair does not operate any flights.

However, Ms Stapel said the airport is satisfied with its existing LCC customers, which include easyJet, Transavia and Wizz Air. “Ljubljana has low cost carriers as well as hybrids, and our strategy is to be committed to the partners we have, because we believe that our partnerships are solid. These airlines proved themselves as they stood by our side even in times of crisis”, Ms Stapel said. Wizz Air restored operations between London Luton and Ljubljana this week after more than two years, with the service having been discontinued prior to the pandemic. On the other hand, Wizz will temporarily suspend operations on its other Ljubljana route, to Charleroi, as part of a wide-scale network shake-up resulting from reduced demand in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. At this point, services are scheduled to resume on March 11.

Ryanair has considered launching flights to Ljubljana on several occasions over the past decade. In 2011 Ljubljana Airport proposed for Ryanair to operate services out of Dusseldorf, Madrid, Oslo and London to the Slovenian capital, however, the deal never materialised. The budget airline briefly maintained flights between London Stansted and Maribor in 2007 and 2008. Despite solid loads, the route was terminated after Ryanair hiked fees for a joint advertising program, which was turned down by local authorities. In 2013, Ryanair requested for the European Commission to act swiftly and conclude its investigation into whether Adria Airways received state aid and benefits from the Slovenian government to the tune of up to 85.5 million euros from 2007 to 2011, contrary to European Union competition laws. The Commission subsequently ruled in favour of Adria. Three years later, in 2016, Ryanair’s David O'Brien said the Slovenian government’s privatisation of Ljubljana Airport to “monopolist” Fraport was a “disaster”. This summer, Ryanair applied for slots from London Stansted Airport to maintain flights to the Slovenian capital. Although the airline was granted its request, it never launched services to Ljubljana.