PREMIUM
Sarajevo Airport has lacked flights to major European hubs for a number of years, much to the benefit of Star Alliance member airlines serving the city. As a result, the majority of Sarajevo’s top unserved routes are in Europe. The airport’s connectivity is expected to improve this summer once Wizz Air stations an aircraft in the city and launches nine new routes. Several European airlines will also introduce new services to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital this year which will cover some of its main unserved destinations. Despite lacking flights to several European cities, Sarajevo’s overall busiest destination without a scheduled air service in 2019, the last normal year of commercial aviation, was Kuwait City. In 2020, as Kuwait closed its borders and banned flights from Bosnia and Herzegovina along with a number of other markets, Turkey’s Ankara proved most popular.
The list below represents the total number of indirect passengers that flew to/from Sarajevo to/from any airport located within a certain city.
Top ten unserved routes to/from Sarajevo in 2019
Kuwait City - Sarajevo - Kuwait City
Kuwait City has been served from Sarajevo on an on and off basis over the past few years. Kuwait Airways ran seasonal two weekly services between its hub and the Bosnian capital in 2013 with a 232-seat Airbus A300-600 aircraft via Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport. Furthermore, the US-registered Gryphon Airlines maintained flights between the two in the past with a Boeing 767-200 jet. The service recorded strong loads and catered for the diaspora, tourists and American servicemen stationed in the Middle East. Other airlines to have attempted the route included Wataniya Airways and FlyBosnia. In 2020, Kuwait Airways was to give Sarajevo a second try with nonstop flights, however, the coronavirus pandemic resulted in the cancellation of those plans. Arab investors, primarily from Kuwait, are building homes and hotels around Sarajevo and are heavily promoting the destination to middle class families looking for cheaper alternatives to Western Europe, fuelling point to point travel to Sarajevo, particularly during the summer months.
Top transfer airports on Kuwait City - Sarajevo - Kuwait City route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on Kuwait City - Sarajevo - Kuwait City route in 2019
Frankfurt - Sarajevo - Frankfurt
Sarajevo has lacked scheduled flights to Frankfurt since 2011, when the now-bankrupt B&H Airlines suspended the service. Lufthansa has opted to maintain flights from Munich instead. Despite this, the German carrier failed in capturing most of the indirect passenger traffic between Frankfurt and Sarajevo, with Austrian Airlines and Croatia Airlines accounting for 65% of the connecting market on the route. The German national carrier will shift its Sarajevo operations from Munich to Frankfurt this summer.
Top transfer airports on Frankfurt - Sarajevo - Frankfurt route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on Frankfurt - Sarajevo - Frankfurt route in 2019
London - Sarajevo - London
FlyBosnia made an unsuccessful attempt at serving the London – Sarajevo market. However, with little promotion and extremely high fares, it was doomed to fail. Star Alliance member airlines Austrian, Lufthansa and Croatia Airlines handled the bulk of the traffic between the two cities, with the majority of travellers transferring through Vienna, Munich and Zagreb. This summer, Wizz Air will introduce nonstop flights from London Luton to Sarajevo.
Top transfer airports on London - Sarajevo - London route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on London - Sarajevo - London route in 2019
Zurich - Sarajevo - Zurich
Despite being home to a significant diaspora from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland has lacked nonstop flights to Sarajevo for the past five years. Swiss terminated its service between the two cities in 2016, citing demand-related adjustments to its network. Once again, Austrian benefited the most from the lack of nonstop flights between Sarajevo and yet another major European city, followed by Croatia Airlines and Lufthansa. This summer, Swiss will make a fresh attempt at serving Sarajevo with limited operations planned during the height of the season.
Top transfer airports on Zurich - Sarajevo - Zurich route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on Zurich - Sarajevo - Zurich route in 2019
Ankara - Sarajevo - Ankara
Despite Sarajevo having the most flights to Turkey out of all other markets, it currently only boasts scheduled services to Istanbul. Ankara has positioned itself as the fifth busiest unserved route out of Sarajevo. Naturally, Turkish Airlines handled over half of all indirect traffic between the two cities, followed by its low cost rival Pegasus Airlines. The only other carrier to handle any indirect traffic between the two cities was Austrian, with two travellers opting to fly via Vienna.
Top transfer airports on Ankara - Sarajevo - Ankara route in 2019
Top transfer airlines on Ankara - Sarajevo - Ankara route in 2019
Due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the top ten unserved routes from Sarajevo changed slightly, with traffic volumes significantly down.
Top ten unserved routes to/from Sarajevo in 2020
