All but one capital city airport in the former Yugoslavia will see their capacity levels grow during February, which is considered the slowest month of the year in the aviation industry. Wizz Air will return to the top spot as the region’s largest carrier during February, just ahead of Air Serbia by several hundred seats.
Belgrade Airport has the most available seats on scheduled flights in February, standing at 653.254. The figure represents an increase of 0.3% on 2024. Wizz Air remains the main culprit for the slow growth, however, British Airways’ absence, as well as Qatar Airways’ daily rather than ten weekly flights will have an impact. Air Serbia will continue to maintain its position as the largest carrier, holding 50.9% of all available scheduled capacity at the airport. Zagreb follows as the second largest with 361.812 available seats on scheduled flights during the month. It represents an increase of 7.3% on the previous year. Croatia Airlines will retain its position as the largest carrier at the airport, with 42% of available capacity. It is followed by Ryanair with 27.7% of all available seats.
Skopje Airport is set to return to growth, boasting 216.180 seats in February, up 1%. Wizz Air, which will reduce capacity by 5.1%, or 6.278 seats, will hold a 54.2% share, while Pegasus Airlines comes second with a 13.6% share. Pristina Airport will have 214.082 available seats, however, it has numerous flights sold exclusively through tour operators which are considered as charters. Therefore, these are not included in the overall scheduled seat capacity. If only seats on scheduled flights are taken into account, the airport sees an increase of 8% in capacity on the previous year. easyJet has the largest volume of scheduled seats, holding an 22.4% share, ahead of Wizz Air with 20.7%.
Sarajevo Airport has 142.466 scheduled seats on the market in February, representing an increase of 39% on 2024. Pegasus Airlines, which has increased its capacity by 28.8% year-on-year, is the largest carrier with 18.3% of capacity, followed by Turkish Airlines with 14%. Fuelling the strong growth is primarily Ryanair, which has brought an additional 12.096 seats. Podgorica Airport has 112.528 seats on scheduled flights in February, an increase of just 0.1% on 2024. The suspension of several routes by Ryanair is the main culprit for the slow growth rate. Having removed 56.1% of its capacity or 7.632 seats. Turkish Airlines is the largest with 23.5% of total capacity, ahead of Air Montenegro, which has managed to position itself as the second largest with 18.1%.
Finally, Ljubljana Airport has 102.780 seats available this February, which is down 9.2% on the previous year. British Airways’ absence coupled with the reduction in flights by Air France and Flydubai have impacted the figures. Turkish Airlines will be its largest carrier with a 19.5% capacity share, ahead of Lufthansa with 16.4% of scheduled capacity.
Largest carriers by scheduled seat capacity in the former Yugoslavia, February 2025
We all knew which airport would be the one without growth.
ReplyDeleteWhen will LJU return to growth?
DeleteI believe admin said that the capacity growth will return in April.
Delete@09:02:
DeleteWhen you/we get a new national carrier.
^so never
DeleteRyanair growth without additional leased aircraft will be around 4 million passengers. Don’t expect miracles from them!
DeleteWhen we get Ryanair!
DeleteYeah no thx for a national carrier. I'd prefer a low-cost base. They are the only ones driving most of the growth in Europe. But Slovenia's going to be a black hole with lights, why not with flights?
DeleteNo doubt, Zagreb will benefit from all of this. Projection based on current seats for 2025, Zagreb will have around 4.8-5.0 million passengers. Croatian airlines will play important role in the growth this year as they'll be getting further 6 A220s, bringing fleet to 8, and they'll still retain noumber of 319/A320s in active fleet till end of 2026. Later this year, non-Schengen area of the airport will see expansion, preparation works should start on terminal expansion in non-Schengen area with 3 air-bridges for wide body aircraft added and 2 additional air bridges for single isle aircraft. These works should be completed by May 2027. Same year late in November, work on Schengen area will also start to expand the terminal there by additional 4 air bridges, so by May 2029, airport will have 7 (9) Non-Schengen air bridges and 9 Schengen Air bridges. Increased capacity should help with current congestion at the terminal as full capacity is reached later this year.
DeleteIt's safe to say Zagreb made a great decision by bringing Ryanair in. As for the OU, it's good at least someone still has some enthusiasm around it but to no avail, I'm afraid.
DeleteThe more time goes by without any growth, the easier the hurdle to show growth in the future. It's coming! :)
DeleteAnonimno09:01
DeleteVsi smo vedeli, katero letališče bo tisto brez rasti.
To boste še dolgo vedeli vsi, ki razmišljate razumno. Tisti pa, ki sanjarijo, da Slovenija ne
potrebuje nacionalnega prevoznka, bodo še naprej sanjarili, da bodo tuji prevozniki poskrbeli
za večjo povezljivost.
I must say "Bravo Fraport"
ReplyDeleteTGD barely holding on because of Ryanair cuts. But at least they are still growing.
ReplyDeleteThankfully they are not too over reliant on Ryanair but the impact is felt in winter when TGD does not have too many flights.
DeleteWhat does the "Fraport" mean?
ReplyDeleteFraport is the airport operator of Ljubljana Airport (and many airports around the world). It means "Frankfurt Airport" - Fraport.
DeleteI expect 2-3% growth at BEG especially considering there is the long weekend public holiday and people travel a lot for that holiday.
ReplyDeleteMaybe even 4%
DeleteWell, last year was even better, as Thu and Fri were bank holidays, whereas this year only Mon.
DeleteYes, true it was. That's why they had year-on-year passenger increase last February of 21%.
DeleteFebruary 2024 had 29 days too.
DeleteFebruary is worse for JU than for BEG. They don't offer UAE, South America connections are bad and long haul at minimum level. I'm speaking without figures but my impression is JU has the lowest share at BEG in this month. However, JU destinations in China are great addition for February.
DeleteWhat percentage of BEG origin passengers travel to South America accourding to your little spreadsheet? Exactly, just above Antarctica.
Delete@ 14.38
DeleteYou are of course wrong. It would take you less than a minute to check JU's share in January. It is 48.4% which is less than its share in February
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/12/ex-yu-airports-to-see-mixed-start-to.html
Wow Sarajevo is unstoppable. Almost 40% capacity growth. So another huge month.
ReplyDeleteWe will see how March goes because of Ramadan. Traditionally SJJ sees a slowdown during Ramadan month.
DeleteI can only imagine the growth during the summer with the new Ryanair routes.
Delete@9.10 When is Ramadan this year?
DeleteThrough whole of March
DeleteSarajevo almost never sees a slowdown during Ramadan, it's a myth, no correlation between seats offered, LF or anything. And it being in March doesn't even impact Gulf arrivals which mostly happen May-October
DeleteUsually the passenger growth is non existent during Ramadan month but this is only if it falls on one of the summer season months when there are flights from the Middle East. But this was during the time there were much less European flights. Now it is a different story.
DeleteDo they serve anything in planes?
DeleteUsually on request, behind the curtain in the galleys for non-Muslim, and for children and sick
DeleteActually the growth is very sluggish for all airport with exceptions to ZAG and SJJ.
ReplyDeleteand PRN
DeleteYes true, forgot PRN
DeleteGood steady and solid growth for Zagreb continuing.
ReplyDeleteEspecially considering the months of February has one day less this year which amounts to roughly 3,6% which make the growth even more good looking.
DeleteLets be honest… half of them have poor growth
ReplyDelete+1
DeletePristina is the quiet achiever.
ReplyDeleteIf Wizz was to return A321s to SKP and BEG instead of A320s the situation would improve immediately.
ReplyDeleteYes, the equipment downgrade has had a big impact on numbers. Especially since Wizz fills planes upwards of 90%.
DeleteSo true! W6 A321s have 239 seats vs their A320s with "only" 186 seats.
DeleteAre there any plans to return any A321s this summer to either SKP or BEG?
DeleteBEG gets the A321 occasionally so it's not always A320
DeleteLove these stats. I would also love to see them for the other airports in ex-Yu, not just capitals :)
ReplyDeleteYes :)
DeleteTrue.
DeleteAir Serbia lags on small planes capacities with empty seats.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia holding 50.9% capacity is impressive, but the reliance on one carrier poses risks. Diversification should be a priority.
ReplyDeleteAir Serbia would hate that.
DeleteI think 50.9% is less than what they had in January and December.
DeleteLess than December but more than January. I checked. In January they have 48.4% and in December 51.5%
DeleteWow....ouch.
DeleteZadar relies heavily on Ryanair during summer. Wizzair has over 60% in SKP. No one calls for "diversification" and points to "risks". LOL fake concerns for Belgrade, double standards as always.
DeleteSKP is actually often criticized here. Always playing victim
DeleteNobody calls for diversifcation for SKP? Welcome to this blog, you must be new
DeleteOU at ZAG has 42% share now, it was close to 50% before Ryanair. JU at BEG has 48% in Jan and that's "too much" but just 6% less for OU is not too much??? Another good joke.
DeleteAdmin, if I can ask, how you calculate available seats?
ReplyDeleteTragedy called LJU continues.
ReplyDeleteBravo Fraport!
Deletethat means around 500k passengers. A weak month
ReplyDeleteWho are you talking about?
DeleteHey 1% is still growth, it's the little things in life. Go, SKP!
ReplyDeleteGrowth is growth once wizz air returns all the planes back to skp and the destinations it's cancelled or suspended. Then we should see proper growth. I just hope skp can diversify there Airlines they have and never rely on one airline with a huge market share.
DeleteSame as Ohrid I hope so too it can attract more airline and destinations.
SKP is still covering the Wizz cuts with the new routes added 2024 and 2023 such as the summer charters. Plus the airport has alot of new routes 8 ..
Delete@9.44 Sto posto bev siguren deka se raboti za Skopje "All but one"
DeleteWow Sarajevo still going hard in 2025, well done! Cant wait to see summer 2025 for them with all the new routes!
ReplyDeleteRyanair started in summer season thatswhy the huge growth compared to 2024
DeleteYes and Sarajevo will continue with the impressive growth from April onwards as Ryan is launching 5 new routes :)
DeleteLet's pray to Allah that the government doesn't mess it up with taxes. They really need to stop sabotaging the aviation sector. They already made a mess in Tuzla.
Deleteyes pray for them to fly free
DeleteI didn't realize Flydubai reduced Ljubljana. By how much per week?
ReplyDeleteI think they reduced in December and January but will increase from late January.
DeleteNo the reduction comes from them not running 2 daily flights at the start of November like they did last year
Deleteit is actually high season for the DXB flights
DeleteSkopje will cover the Wizz cuts with the new routes and the summer charters such as the new charters that will start very soon. Anyway more then 200k in February is still nice numbers👍
ReplyDeleteNot really. Remember that Wizz is introducing 3 new routes but they cut 5.
DeleteSome of them are cutted from all their airports not only SKP .... basicly they cut from all their bases somewhere little somewhere little more , but I speak for Flydubai,Transavia,Easyjet,Airbaltic ....
DeleteLJU not having a good winter.
ReplyDeleteNothing surprising. Was published by this site as far back as October last year
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/10/ljubljana-airport-faces-challenging.html
This is the second year both BEG and SKP are experiencing the impact of Wizz Air cuts. I could understand that last year these cuts were unexpected and came from summer season. But by now, they should have looked for an alternative as it does not seem Wizz will grow in either.
ReplyDelete+1
Deletegetting on their knees to welcome Ryanair?? I guess they rather swallow another year of Wizz-limbo before doing that
DeleteCmon, it's Wizz, not Turkish, why would anyone wit for them? No much difference between them and Ryan when it comes to fees they want to pay.
Delete*wait for them
DeleteI have never read an article here on ExYu about Wizzair blackmailing Serbia and Macedonia about 1,50€ fee and something similar
DeleteIt's a shame that despite transfer traffic JU has only 50% share at the airport.
ReplyDeleteIt's capacity i.e the number of seats, not the number of passengers.
Delete^ true but I doubt JU has higher loadfactor than LHG airlines.
DeleteIt's the first time in my life I have seen it written (for any business) that they have "only" 50% share. For most industries, it's the maximum you can have, or the market inspection knocks on your door and makes you sell part of your business. It's different in aviation but still 50% share is massive.
Delete^ it's because most people here are detached from reality.
DeleteWhat inspection knocked on the door of Tuzla Airport during years when Wizzair had exactly 100% of the market?
DeleteOr is anyone known at FRA's doors because LH controls over 60% of the market?
DeletePathetic growth at BEG. The airport is badly mismanaged, and it doesn’t help that its biggest airline is also in shambles
ReplyDeleteYour jealousy is pathetic. Hard to swallow that BEG is the only airport in the region with more than 5 million passengers. Wait, also the only one with more than 6 and 7 and 8 million. Biggest airline set the record number of passengers at 4.4 million, millions above other flag carriers in the region. Feel the burn now? Good.
DeleteAnon 21:02, yeah...but still pathetic growth...
DeleteAnd Podgorica's is even more pathetic. But you didn't feel the need to comment on that.
Delete2023 growth was gigantic, so combined 2023-2024 BEG growth still outpaces ZAG by a wide margin.
DeleteI am not too worried about BEG. Others are also starting to adjust because JU and W6 can't meet the demand. We already saw Nouvelair double its flights, KL upgraded their capacity this winter, OS as well, Lufthansa keeps on sending the A321 etc.
DeleteI also noticed that instead of the B73W, KL now sends the E2 to BEG. It might be smaller but it definitely has a better product.
Anon 05:39, yeah KLM worries about transfer passangers in some small country... How yes no...
DeleteJust 500 seat difference between Wizz and JU.
ReplyDeleteWhen will Skopje see a railway connection to the city center? In the next century?
ReplyDeleteask that ZAG too
Delete