Minister: Qatar Airways to restore Skopje flights this year

Qatar Airways is set to resume flights between Doha and Skopje in 2025 after a five-year hiatus, according to the Macedonian Minister for Transport, Aleksandar Nikoloski. The Minister noted the airline plans to introduce “at least one new route” to Skopje, suggesting the service may include a stopover in another city or position Skopje as a transit point to a different European destination. In the past, Qatar Airways operated several routes in the region with similar stopover arrangements. For instance, flights to Zagreb were initially routed via Budapest, services to Belgrade operated through Ankara and later Sofia, while Bucharest flights also made stops in the Bulgarian capital. Over time, all these routes were upgraded to nonstop services.

Qatar Airways launched operations to Skopje in 2017. It discontinued flights to the Macedonian capital in March 2020 at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, the airline maintained three weekly rotations between the two cities with its Airbus A320 aircraft. During its final full year of operations in 2019, it handled 29.856 passengers on the Skopje route, registering an average cabin load factor of 55.9%. The majority of Qatar Airways’ Skopje passengers were transfers. They primarily originated or were destined for the Australian market - 33%, followed by India 7%, Thailand 5% and Singapore 4%. The Macedonian government has an ongoing tender, offering subsidies to airlines in return for the launch of new routes to the country. In the previous round, Flydubai was one of the carriers to have applied for the launch of services between Dubai and Skopje in 2025, however, it is yet to schedule flights.

Qatar Airways recently made noticeable cuts across its network for the upcoming 2025 summer season. These reductions have not been avoided by the region either. The carrier is reducing its operations between Doha and Zagreb from ten weekly to daily with the start of the 2025 summer season in late March. Qatar Airways will maintain daily operations between Doha and Belgrade for most of next summer, matching 2024 levels, however, the airline will reduce flights to five weekly in May and October. This coincides with Qatar Airways’ wider network reductions in Europe specifically during those two months which will also impact Vienna, Rome, Athens, Warsaw and Zurich. The Qatari flag carrier’s seasonal summer service between Doha and Sarajevo will also be reduced on select months. The service will resume on June 1 and will be maintained five times per week, matching frequencies served in 2024. However, in August, the airline will reduce operations from last year’s seven weekly to five weekly. Furthermore, its flight program to Sarajevo will conclude on September 14, two weeks ahead of 2024