PREMIUM
Skopje Airport marked fifty years since its opening in 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic bringing an end to a decade of continuous passenger growth, generated primarily by low cost carrier Wizz Air. Skopje Airport was closed for three and a half months last year. Similar to 2019, routes maintained by traditional carriers are those that were the busiest from the Macedonian capital. Out of the top five, only two were run by Wizz Air. Compared to 2019, there were minor changes to the top. Zurich just outperformed Istanbul’s main airport as the busiest route, while Vienna dropped from third to fifth place. Overall, when both of Istanbul’s airports are taken into account, Turkey’s largest city was the busiest destination out of Skopje.
Skopje - Zurich - Skopje
Zurich Airport was Skopje’s busiest route last year served by Swiss
International Air Lines’ subsidiary Edelweiss Air, as well as Chair Airlines.
Together, they handled 54.948 passengers, with Chair dominating the route,
running 63.8% of all operations. These flights primarily serve the large
expatriate communities of both Macedonians and Kosovars in Switzerland.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160.547 | 166.442 | 147.868 | 54.948 |
Skopje - Istanbul New Airport - Skopje
Turkish Airlines maintained flights on Skopje's second busiest route to
Turkey’s largest city. Last year it handled 54.599 passengers on 568 flights
(return service included). It registered an annual average cabin load factor
of 62.8%. Turkish Airlines benefits from strong economic ties between
Macedonia and Turkey, a large flow of tourists from Turkey into Macedonia, as
well as a significant number of transfer traffic from Macedonia via Istanbul.
In 2020, Turkey was one of the few markets open to Macedonian nationals. The
Boeing 737 was most commonly used on the route.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 157.254 | 165.659 | 157.769 | 54.599 |
Skopje - Basel - Skopje
Basel is traditionally Wizz Air’s busiest route out of Skopje and so too was
the case in 2020. Serving as an alternative to Zurich, the no frills airline
primarily handles the Macedonian and Kosovar diaspora on the route. It handled
49.900 travellers between the two cities and operated 132 flights (return
service included). It faced no direct competition between the two cities.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98.768 | 117.193 | 131.712 | 49.900 |
Skopje - Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen - Skopje
Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen was the fourth busiest route out of Skopje, making
the Turkish city the overall busiest from the Macedonian capital. Flights from
Sabiha Gokcen were exclusively served by low cost carrier Pegasus Airlines,
which handled 42.346 passengers on the route. It operated 330 flights (return
service included) and registered an average annual load factor of 68.8%.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71.615 | 66.287 | 79.430 | 42.346 |
Skopje - Vienna - Skopje
Austrian Airlines, which has been operating into Skopje since 1996, maintained
the airport’s fifth busiest route in 2020, from Vienna. Last year it handled
29.076 passengers between the two cities. It operated 521 flights (return
service included), while its average annual cabin load factor stood at 53.8%.
It used a mix of equipment on the route. Over 40% were operated by the Embraer
E195 jets, 39.4% by the Dash 8, 8% by the Airbus A319, and the remainer by the
A320 aircraft.
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120.025 | 120.292 | 137.013 | 29.076 |