Ryanair rules out Ljubljana flights

Low cost carrier Ryanair has ruled out the possibility of introducing flights to Ljubljana in the near future. It comes after Ljubljana Airport said late last year it was willing to resume discussions with the budget carrier, confirming that talks have taken place between the two sides in the past. However, in a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, Ryanair said, “Ljubljana is well served by our base in Zagreb and is in close proximity to Trieste Airport, from which we also maintain flights to a number of destinations”. The airline pointed out that Ljubljana Airport is managed by Fraport, which it has accused of “high and uncompetitive fees”, which will lead to the closure of its base at Frankfurt Airport on March 31. “There are currently few chances for Ljubljana to be included in our network”, Ryanair concluded.

Ljubljana Airport has said that while it is willing to hold talks with Ryanair, it is satisfied with existing low cost carriers serving the Slovenian capital which include easyJet, Transavia and Wizz Air. “We have already held talks [with Ryanair] and we are ready to continue them. We welcome all airlines that fit into our business model. 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”, Ljubljana Airport’s General Manager, Babett Stapel, recently said. Currently. Wizz Air is serving Slovenia from London Luton and Charleroi, easyJet from London Gatwick, while Transavia will add Paris Orly to its existing Amsterdam flights. Since the pandemic hit, easyJet has terminated its operations from London Stanstead and Berlin to Ljubljana and has cancelled plans to launch services from Luton.

Ryanair has considered introducing 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”. Last year, 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 and used the slots for other routes instead.