The Macedonian government is preparing to launch a public call this week for the introduction of new routes to Skopje and Ohrid airports under a revised scheme designed to reduce the country’s dependence on Wizz Air. The new three-year subsidy program, effective from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2027, will focus on subsidising routes rather than specific airlines. Unlike the previous twelve years, this program will be open to all international destinations, not just European carriers and routes, with a particular goal of re-establishing flights to the Gulf region after a five-year hiatus.
The Macedonian government estimates the country will handle an additional 200.000 passengers next year as a result of the new measures. The value of the subsidies will also be increased to just over two million euros per year for a total of 6.1 million euros for the three-year period. To attract a broader range of carriers, the tender conditions, which previously required airlines to have handled over five million passengers annually and to have posted a ten-million-euro net profit in the previous year, will be abolished. Since Macedonia introduced its subsidy program in 2012, Wizz Air has been the beneficiary on all occasions, pocketing over forty million euros over the past twelve years.
Commenting on the new subsidy scheme, Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Communication, Aleksandar Nikoloski, said, “To prevent future dependence on a single airline, we are shifting to subsidies based on destinations. We have revised the conditions to attract as many foreign travellers to Macedonia as possible, bringing in new tourists and connecting the country with more destinations. A key change in the new program is that support will be provided for incoming travellers, unlike previous programs that focused on outgoing passengers. We are also increasing the amount of financial support to nine euros per arriving passenger in Skopje and to twelve euros in Ohrid. Previously, the subsidy amounted to seven and 4.5 euros respectively. Most importantly, we will no longer limit subsidies to destinations within the European Union; destinations outside the EU will also be eligible, which we expect will bring more passengers and tourists from the Middle East and other regions”.
Finally, this makes sense
ReplyDeleteWhat would make most sense is that the market can handle a single new destination without money being thrown at it.
DeleteExactly. In general subsides should be banned all over.
DeleteI think this strategy has been rather successful for MKD so I support it
DeleteThat’s very difficult when every airline has a plane shortage. Than the question is not which routes could be profitable but which routes are the nost profitable
DeleteSo we might see DXB or DOH back!
ReplyDeleteMore likely AUH launched by Wizz Abu Dhabi.
Deleteimagine we get Emirates. Zag and Beg would cry of jealousy : )
DeleteI'd be Flydubai before Emirates. Or Air Arabia
Delete@9.05 yes they will send A380 to Skopje...
Delete380 not, but 350 yes. Lot of us work and live in AUS.
DeleteI'm sorry but both FZ and QR had low loads and frequencies to Skopje and you expect Emirates to start flights?
DeleteThere is no was SKP could get Emirates before SJJ, you cant compare the demands between the two.
DeleteI think both Etihad and Emirates will come to SKP.
Deletelol
DeleteI think that SKP getting emirates to fly there is as possible as slovenia getting new national carrier, almost 0.
DeleteThat was said for ZAG too yet they pursuaded Emirates to fly from ZAG.
Delete^ Yeah and Emirates never returned after covid, despite ZAG having both FZ and QR flights with decent loads.
DeleteSKP couldn't sustain neither of those carriers but suddenly Emirates will take the bait for €9 per passenger. Yeah right.
Be happy if FZ returns.
Will they preselect destinations?
ReplyDeleteThat's my understanding
DeleteNo
DeleteRyanair might finally come
ReplyDeleteHopefully easyjet comes back
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWould be nice
DeleteBut how will it change dependence on Wizz? Wizz will probably just apply for all the routes. Unless the government is selecting routes and purposely chooses those that are not operated by Wizz.
ReplyDeleteBecause they have changed the terms, meaning more airlines will apply.
Deletelol
DeleteDXB / DOH need to be high on that list.
ReplyDelete+1
Delete+1
DeleteOut of this, the best thing is they are ending the rule about amount of profit and passengers the airline applying must have.
ReplyDeleteChance for OU to apply for routes out of SKP :D
DeleteIt's too early, they are still considering Ljubljana because of Adria bankruptcy.
DeleteTide is turning against Wizz in ex-Yu.
ReplyDeleteThey have always treated ex-Yu markets as second rate. Time to find new partners.
DeleteWithout them, many ex-Yu markets would barely have any LCC flights. So we should be thankful.
DeleteHopefully this means more legacy airlines.
ReplyDeleteWhich one is most likely to come to SKP?
DeleteAir france or KLM , and possibly Iberia.
DeleteHopefully not, more LCC is the way to go. So sick of naive people thinking that anyone will fly with Emirates if they come.
DeleteWow they will offer double the money for flights to Ohrid.
ReplyDeleteMy wishes are Air France and Ryanair for now.
ReplyDeleteWould be nice although Air France has a very limited presence in the region. Transavia France with Orly flights sounds possible though.
DeleteTransavia would make sense. But they seem to have a very passive approach to this entire region.
DeleteGood news
ReplyDeleteHope someone other than Wizz applies
ReplyDeleteLast time was the first time an airline other than Wizz took advantage of the subsidies. Hopefully we see more this year.
DeleteWe will just end up with bunch of Wizz diaspora routes again
ReplyDeleteThis same party was the first to introduce subsidies back in 2012 so I have confidence when it comes to them and aviation.
ReplyDeleteYes but now the rules of the tender are changed alot , and that would bring some new airlines and routes.
Delete@18.01 as if you have seen the text of the tender
DeleteTAV absolutely loving for having to do nothing 12 years and counting.
ReplyDeleteThey should really renovate Ohrid. Long overdue and promised.
DeleteThey announced it many times until now and did nothing.
DeleteFinally someone who gets it. exYuAviation should change the article to state 'TAV has pocketed more than 40 million in the past 12 years'. Normal airport operators have new route incentives that cover this by default without depending on the government to step in. That's what you get when you let TAV walk all over you.
DeleteFraport (LJU) says hello
DeleteIt's good that there is some movement, especially in Ohrid, but Ohrid is a different story, the region overall is stagnating, I was there some 10 days ago. It needs overhaul of the offerings, it needs some more respected hotel brands to attract different kind of tourists, people who will spend more and adore the beauties, not as it is now, most of them are drunk young foreigners.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Skopje, it's good that there is some movement at least, since because of all the issues Wizz had, plus the attention they put on other airports by removing all A321 from the airport, the numbers declined. There is always some ceiling less or more, but I think is not reached yet...there is still some potential, but that will also depend from the political and business climate in the country, and with all the vetoes and blockades for almost 20 years, high corruption and complaints from minorities all the time while their companies are stealing milions from the budget, generations and generations are just giving up on the European dream and to live a normal life...
How many aircraft will Wizz have based in Skopje this winter?
ReplyDeletefour.
DeleteMost likely
ReplyDeleteNow it’s time to do the marketing and create interest by as many carriers as possible.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think they needed to do segmentation of destinations according to priority in order to avoid a situation in which only german gasto routes are attracted.
Priority 1 could have been eligible to most of the finaces, priority 2 less and so on. You can’t give the same susbsidy amount for Barcelona which is only a tourist destination and Hannover for instance where thousands of citizens of Macedonia are living, plus business etc. As for the airlines I think there is a chance we might see Ryanair entry on the market, Aegean might expand if political relations to Greece don’t worsen, TUI Airlines, ITA from FCO and maybe KLM from Amsterdam and Lufthansa from MUC. Unfortunatelly, I personally think Easyjet has completely abandoned Macedonia and other legacy carriers like Air France and British have no chance because there are visas to UK and very weak ties to France meaning there will be only potential for transfer pax.
On my wish list these are the destinations from SKP:
Amsterdam
Barcelona
Madrid
Bari
Prague
Lisbon
Heraklion (summer)
Munich
Geneva (another try)
Manchester
Dubai
Abu Dhabi
Doha
From OHD is another story and there is a lot of potential:
Basel to be returned
Eindhoven or Rotterdam to be returned
Brussels to be returned
Istanbul to be returned
Ankara
London to be returned
Milan to be returned
Venice
Bari
Stuttgart or Karsruhe
Gothenburg or Malmo to be returned
Copenhagen
Oslo
Helsinki to be returned
KRAKOW or other destinations from Poland
Ljubljana
Bucharest
Budapest
Prague
Good list. I agree, many of those could work
DeletePRG, GVA and AMS are all needed from SKP.
ReplyDeleteMore regular airlines with flights to actual hubs please.
ReplyDeleteI agree. We really need is flights to major hubs like LHR, CDG, MUC, AMS, FCO, BRU.
DeleteAt least one of these please
DeleteFor that you need a national airline
DeleteHow come Budapest has flights to all of those, then?
DeleteFirst and foremost I hope we see Flydubai and Qatar Airways restore flights.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteSince ADP (Aeroporte de Paris) now holds 46% of TAV it would be logical to open SKP-CDG and try to distribute some of the transfer pax from SKP via CDG . There are more connecting opportunities at CDG than VIE for example.
ReplyDeleteExactly ! You’re totally right
DeleteThey can easily fly 3x weekly with E190/A319.
Zurich is the second busiest route out of Skopje so it's beyond me how Swiss mainline failed in Skopje. It would be nice if they came back.
ReplyDeleteOr at least seasonally
DeleteNothing would be gained with ZRH unfortunatelly. WK already offers connections 4x weekly plus Chair daily flights.
DeleteWhich means that ZRH is not the second busiest. First comes SAW, then IST, VIE and then ZRH fourth.
DeleteLet's hope it's more successful then the one in Slovenia
ReplyDeleteSkopje "Wizz Air" Airport.
ReplyDeleteWhy Macedonia needs SUBSIDIES all the time?!
ReplyDeleteask that question for ALL EXYU COUNTRIES
DeleteBecause TAV.
DeleteIn my opinion this is still a poor offer. Airlines are looking for a bulk sum of money, and not few euros from here and there. And it make no sens when you offer an extra 5 euro per passenger but then you increase the airport tax! and this is the plan, airlines will not be fouled! The best offer will be to do a deal with 2 max. 3 airlines to offer connecting flight like the deal Oradea or Vilnius airport signed with LOT Polish Airlines...
ReplyDeleteI think that in the end Wizzair will again be the absolute leader of flights in North Macedonia, they will again have flights to the countries of northern Europe for the villages of the Macedonian and Kosovar diaspora, it is very difficult to be able to enter tourist destinations such as Prague, Barcelona, Warsaw or Paris. SKP is very disadvantaged for this because it is located between three large airports such as SOF, TIA and SKG. PRN, NIS and PDG have the same problem.
ReplyDeletePrn does not have a problem, why are you saying it does? And also vast majority of Kosovar diaspora flies from / to Prishtina. Skopje is only used for destinations not available in Kosovo, e.g Barcelona or Malta, and since last year those two destinations have a greater availability from Tirana, so not even for those.
DeletePRN has no problem indeed, the advertising in the airport building are almost all in german, its clearly its a gastarbajter airport for the swiss and german diaspora.
DeleteAnd what is your problem with that, if we are happy how we fly?
Deletethis minister, also known as "lignja", has obviuosly no clue that the last tender was also about subsidising routes rather then airlines. It was the first time that somobedy else than Wizz apllied. Our transport-ministers have all been rather disapointing so far but this one is hitting a new low
ReplyDeleteAnyway this tender is way different then any other previous even from his own party ....because they started this tender calls.
Deleteif they dont allow seasonal flights to Ohrid, dzabe im se 12€
ReplyDeleteWhy wouldn't they allow seasonal flights to Ohrid?
Deleteas a tender rule
DeleteOHD as a tourist place will have the option to get seasonal flights too , but they want more regular through the year.
Deletewe will see ^^
Deleteso it will have no option for seasonal flights as predicted. Crazy
DeleteThis new tender also eliminates the need for the airline to keep flying the rout after the subsidies end.
ReplyDeleteis it out? the actual tender
DeleteNo, not yet
DeleteYes that was one of the problems and airlines didnt want to accept tender like that , now in the new one that is not existing anymore. The tender is expected to be launch this days.
Deleteseasonal routes to Ohrid: Istanbul, London, Zagreb, Krakow, Charleroi, Eindhoven, Berlin, Hahn
ReplyDeleteSo I'm guessing the government is no longer interested in setting up a national airline?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest our governments never were interested in national airline.
DeleteGood news. I hope we finally see another airline using these subsidies. Wizz Air needs more competition.
ReplyDeleteI would think TUI UK got more than this for their MAN-OHRID route this summer. Pity they dropped LGW.. only operated summer 2023... clearly the LGW slots were more valuable on other routes
ReplyDeleteThat route is not substidied? They fly without getting payed
DeleteGatwick slots are becoming pretty valuable, the airport grew close to 700% over the past 2 years. Maybe they'll use their Stansted slots instead, but who knows
DeleteAdmin you forgot to mention that the previous tenders were 'airlines to continue operate the route after the subsides money finish' and that was one of the biggest problems why airlines didnt want to fly from SKP and OHD , now that rule is also deleted from this tender :)
ReplyDeleteI would say no , they are unable to get any big piece of the cake anymore , their fleet is grounded , there will be more airlines for sure , because this tender is very different then the previous ones.
ReplyDeleteWizz is gonna aply before others do it
DeleteZagreb - Ohrid would be great.
ReplyDeleteIST-OHD would be great for us in Australia
ReplyDeleteIt might be a good idea for the first long-haul destination outside of Europe and the Middle East to be Buenos Aires (EZE) and ITA would be a great candidate for it. However, I doubt that it would be possible during this call.
ReplyDeleteITA? The Italian flag carrier? Why would they apply for a direct flight between Skopje and a South American city lol. I mean, I wish, but it feels completely unrealistic
DeleteIf there is a intercontinental route from SKP worth considering, it is Toronto. There are more than 200000 Macedonians living in Toronto metro area. It is actually second largest Macedonian city. Buenos Aires makes no sense at all.
DeleteI hope they open Malmö Ohrid again so we don’t need to fly to Tirana
ReplyDeleteI don't believe it. Wizzair and TIA do not have many passengers in Malmö. If they restarted between OHD and Malmö, they would cannibalize themselves.
DeleteLast time flight from malmo to Ohrid was full from may to september
DeleteWill SKP and Stockholm flights resume?
ReplyDeleteThe same goes for SKP-CPH? That flight is always full
DeleteSKP-MMX is killing CPH
DeleteCannot do wonders. The market is that, poor one, dominated by gasto and and that's it. Nothing can come out of nothing.
ReplyDelete