Sarajevo Airport has had an impressive year so far, with several new airlines beginning operations to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital, including Europe’s largest, Ryanair. The airport is now served by a record 27 scheduled carriers and six airlines operating charters, connecting the city to a total of 36 destinations, alongside a record number of passengers.
The positive trends are set to continue into 2025, with the airport confirming new airlines and routes are on the horizon, which will cater for locals, tourists, businesspeople, and visiting friends and relatives alike. Speaking to EX-YU Aviation News, Sarajevo Airport’s CEO, Alan Bajić, said, “Based on demand, there is definitely potential to broaden our network by adding more destinations, particularly to European cities like Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Eindhoven, and Prague, followed by expanding to more distant locations. We are currently at different stages of negotiations with various airlines, some in the early phases and others more advanced. What I can share at this point is that we anticipate the introduction of new airlines and destinations in the coming year”.
The Tourism Association of the Canton of Sarajevo recently announced a new public call inviting airlines to introduce new routes to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital, offering incentives in return. Sarajevo Airport has identified over thirty strategically important destinations and is prioritising efforts to secure flights to these locations. “When developing our list of strategic destinations, we took into account various factors, including extensive market analyses, airline interest, and passenger demand for specific routes. A new public call for aviation incentives in the Sarajevo Canton area has been announced. It is open until October 1, and covers a three-year period (2024, 2025, and 2026). We anticipate a higher number of airlines submitting applications this time around”, Mr Bajić explained.
The CEO noted that Sarajevo Airport has long-term plans to secure flights to distant markets as well. “Our long-term goal is to ensure that as passenger numbers continue to grow each year, we also elevate the quality of our services and accommodate larger aircraft, thus opening up opportunities for long-haul flights to distant destinations. We aim to facilitate landings and takeoffs for Category E aircraft, supported by an “Aeronautical Study” that explores the possibilities of extending the runway and upgrading the ILS [Instrument Landing System] category”, Mr Bajić said. He added, “I’m also pleased to report that Sarajevo International Airport successfully passed the TSA [US Transportation Security Administration] audit, with the aim to establish nonstop flights between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the United States, earning us an excellent rating”.
Sarajevo Airport handled its millionth traveller of the year in early August, almost a month and a half ahead of 2023, with its annual passenger growth rate currently standing at 36%. Over the past year, the airport opened its expanded and overhauled terminal, installed new jetbridges, opened new lounges and commercial shopping areas. Mr Bajić noted the secret to the success was “dedication and commitment to hard work”. “I want to highlight that during a highly uncertain period for the aviation industry, we successfully connected Sarajevo with numerous key European and global hubs, establishing the city as a sought-after tourist destination. This achievement was the result of several strategic business decisions, beginning with the organisational restructuring of our company. We appointed new leadership to head our middle management and lower organisational units, assembling a dynamic team of young professionals who, with their proactive approach and enthusiasm, embraced their roles and initiated a completely new business strategy in the market”, the CEO said.
Mr Bajić added, “We placed a strong emphasis on staff training, effectively "building up" the new personnel needed to manage all complex airport operations, including aircraft handling, passenger services, baggage processing, and cargo and mail handling. Significant efforts were also dedicated to retaining and attracting new airlines and destinations, ultimately ensuring every passenger had a positive experience. We received significant support from all relevant institutions, which recognised and backed our numerous initiatives. First and foremost, this includes our owner, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federal Ministry of Tourism and Environment, the Government of the Sarajevo Canton, the Ministry of Economy of the Sarajevo Canton, and the Tourist Board of the Sarajevo Canton”.
To accommodate the expected increase in passenger numbers in the coming period, the airport will need to expand its infrastructure. Sarajevo Airport’s CEO will outline these developments in upcoming coverage on EX-YU Aviation News.
Well done Sarajevo. Good stuff
ReplyDeleteIt should be the other way around..
DeleteAirlines should express interest in serving a certain destination depending on passenger figures, subsidies distort markets.
I zasto onda subvencioniraju toliki aerodromi?
DeleteThis airport has highest taxes and fees in Europe, resulting in unnecessarily expensive tockeys. Classic Balkan corruption and kleptocracy.
Delete07:37 You seem terribly out of date, taxes you're referring to that were used to develop other airports in B&H were abolished before COVID and the additional BHANSA tax of 1.5€ isn't applied to LCC flights. That makes Sarajevo average on ex-yu level
DeleteHigh taxes are opposite of corruption. Low taxes raise many questions, like if airport got only 1eur, who got 2 eurs in their pocket? etc...
Delete“Based on demand, there is definitely potential to broaden our network by adding more destinations, particularly to European cities like Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Eindhoven, and Prague"
ReplyDeleteWhich airline(s) could operate these routes?
Vueling most likely for Barcelona. Eindhoven is so odd. Wouldn't Amsterdam make more sense?
DeleteBarcelona - Ryanair, EasyJet, Vueling
DeleteParis - Air France, Transavia, EasyJet. Ryanair, Wizzajr fly to Beauvais, which is 2h away
Amsterdam - Easyjet, KLM, Transavia
Berlin - Easyjet, Ryanair, WizzEurowings
Eindhoven - Transavia Ryanair
Prague - Eurowings, Ryanair
@9.16 major slot issues at AMS.
DeleteWeird considering they recently walked back on the slot restrictions and the airport is still below 2019 capacity
DeleteRyanair for sure will be expanding next year and introducing some of those routes mentioned.
DeleteAirport looks great
ReplyDeleteHope they don't give it up for concession.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. Embassy is pressuring our government to give the airport under concession. On one hand, it seems bad because someone else will manage one of the best-performing companies in the country. But on the other hand, considering how people are hired in all government companies based on party affiliations, I don't have anything against it.
DeleteParty affiliations will not stop with concession.
DeleteYes, that is for sure. However, the airport will not be owned by the federal government, which is governed by these parties. As a result, competition for jobs will be more public and transparent compared to the current situation.
DeleteWould be nice to have Ljubljana - Sarajevo back.
ReplyDeleteThere is no one to operate this route. Wizz Air won't wither since it has no base in either SJJ or LJU.
DeleteSlovenia needs to attract someone to set up a base in LJU. There are so many opportunities lost.
DeleteSarajevo - LJ would be useful but its a route with a very low number of passangers. I cant see it ever returning without a Slovene based airline and even then it would require an aircraft like an ATR42 or smaller.
DeleteWhy not with cessna 172?lol
DeleteTrue lol
Delete10% of Slovenia are Bosnian, there would surely be demand as there was 10 years ago when we were a lot poorer
DeleteLarge parts of Bosnia are actually fairly close to Slovenia by car. Whilst the past was poorer, people also had fewer cars and the roads were shocking. Now transport and cars are slightly better.
DeleteTrust me no one who can afford a ticket wants to travel 10h by bus to Ljubljana from Sarajevo or Mostar and have 20 stops on the way to pick up people.
DeleteAs someone who has worked in tourism, my experience is that people from Slovenia like to come to Bosnia and Herzegovina by car. There are so many Slovenians here.
DeleteIn the structure of overnight stays by foreign tourists for 2023, the highest percentages were achieved by tourists from Croatia (14.2 percent), Serbia (12.3 percent), Turkey (8.1 percent), Slovenia (6.7 percent), Saudi Arabia (5.3 percent), Germany (4.8 percent), the USA (3.4 percent), and the United Arab Emirates (3.1 percent), totaling 57.9 percent. Tourists from other countries accounted for 42.1 percent of overnight stays, according to data from the BiH Statistics Agency.
DeleteSarajevo is doing fantastic, well done!
ReplyDelete+1
Delete+1
DeleteHow many passengers could Sarajevo reach this year?
ReplyDelete1.8 milion .
DeleteThat's an excellent result. It means next year over 2 million without doubt.
DeleteSad thing is SJJ could have done all of this 10 years ago if they had professional management. Better late than never I guess. Good job.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm always told management has nothing to do with the airlines flying to the airport?
DeleteGood comment. As a bosnian citizen, I can tell you: First, Serbs and Croats will always be sabotaging it, Serbs just refused extention of the runaway ( which they are also using). Second, we don't have the will to do any project unless money can be stolen. There are so many.....
DeleteWhat happened with extension of working hours after midnight, no more interested airlines? There were rumors that JU would introduce extra rotations.
ReplyDeleteI believe the issue is that there are just one or two airlines interested and it is just too expensive for the airport to stay open throughout the night because of one flight (or two flights on some days). Because for that you have to have staff at check-in, gates, cleaners, security, police officers at passport control, ground handling etc. Most likely when you put the revenue generated by that flight against the losses of keeping it open, it didn't make sense.
DeleteWhat was the other airline that was interested besides JU?
DeleteSalam Air and they fly seasonally to SJJ.
DeleteShould they flew, they didn't fly to Sarajevo this year.
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DeleteWhen Wizz pulled the base from Sarajevo many people thought Sarajevo was done. Happy the management found an alternative.
ReplyDeleteBravo Sarajevo!
ReplyDeleteHopefully the subsidies will be there to develop the market and will then end in three years. I don't understand that a European capital has to subsidize flights to major European hubs that are global hubs such as Paris and Amsterdam.
ReplyDeleteWizz must be crying right now haha. Well done Sarajevo!
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteArrived in Sarajevo last week, the airport looks great, shame they didn’t expand it even more at the time of the most recent expansion as it seems like it will need to be done soon.
ReplyDeleteYes, they will need to expand it further. Today, there was an article on Klix stating that there is already a plan for expansion.
DeleteSarajevo didn't attract interest so far from LHR, CDG and AMS but SJJ is optimistic about long haul flights from the US? I am not buying this. Not at all.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Sarajevo need LHR or CDG? There is no diaspora there! St. Louis has more than 100.000 people with Bosnian passport! ORD would work better than HAM, BER, CDG or LHR!
DeleteSTL barely got one flight back to Europe, to FRA. Bosnian diaspora can't fill LH flights from STL and you are suggesting they fly to ORD to catch nonstop ORD-SJJ? Wow.
DeleteI guess BA dropped it from LHR due poor LF. would be nice to have SJJ from LGW or LHR.. v v early flights mostly what there is now.. Ryanair.. Wizz always cancelling..might even have dropped it..I don't even consider them anymore due to endless canx
ReplyDeleteOmg. What a negativity. Rynaiar's STN flight has been late for about an hour two times and another two times for about 2 times in the whole August (total rotatios: 14). Other 10 rotations they flew with no delay. Who is cancelling flights? I am just checking FR24. SInce June 1st not a single flight was cancelled by Ryanair from SJJ to STN.
DeleteSurprisingly, with Wizzair on SJJ-LTN since June 1st THERE WAS NO SINGLE FLIGHT which was late. They are all green in FR24, meanwhile landed in LTN with max 15min delay. Believe it or not.
In which paralel universe do you live? And why such negativity?
BA expanded in Balkans without any clue on the markets. Complete fail. I get the yields are not great but if you expect great yields in Balkans something is very much wrong with your planning.
DeleteDoes someone really thinks that they will get US flights ? Do you know how many airports more succesfully here in this region still doesn't have any direct flights to North america ? Sofia,Budapest,Prague,Zagreb,Bratislava , and airport that still doesn't have connections to main Europe hubs will get an US flight ? Comeone people be realistic , last year they berely survive as an aiport , they need to work more and improve more in the years that coming first connecting Eurooe then something acfoss the ocean ;)
ReplyDeleteI dont want to offend anyone here I am just real!!!
Cuj....jedva kao aerodrom prezivio! Koje gluposti! Nekome ocigledno ne odgovara uspjeh Sarajeva. Najbolje rukovodstvo od svih serodroma Ex-Yu.
DeleteAnalitičar opet gura svoje prijatelje.
DeleteImagine stating that the airport barely survived when it had an amazing financial result, it even had a profit during COVID times...
Delete+1
Delete"last year they barely survived as an airport" hahaha
Deleteyou are not real, resultat is real
DeleteI dont speak about they make a profit or not , which airport doesnt make a profit ? I am saying that one Wizz leaves them because there is no potential , their busiest routes are middle east ans couple europe routes , but its impossible to get US flights , thats what I want to say.
DeleteActually many airports need state intervention to stay afloat if they're not under concession
DeleteGreat job Sarajevo. Keep the pace.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see things finally moving in the right direction for SJJ.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, it's hard not to see how much spite there is for this airport, both on this portal and in real life. It's giving salty