Slovenia Prepares for Year Ahead After Losing National Airline

The country of Slovenia is preparing for the coming year, after its national airline, Adria Airways, was declared bankrupt last year.

The country’s only airport with regularly scheduled passenger flights, Ljubljana Joze Pucnik International, saw declining passenger numbers after Adria Airways, whose hub was Ljubljana, ceased operations. This left Ljubljana with fewer flights, and airlines such as Lufthansa and Brussels Airlines took the opportunity to start operations to the SlovenIan capital, in order to profit from routes that were left uncovered by Adria’s bankruptcy. In addition, airports in the region, such as Croatia’s Franjo Tudjman International airport in Zagreb, also profited from Adria’s bankruptcy, as passengers opted for nearby airports.

According to exyuaviation.com, Ljubljana airport’s operator, Fraport Slovenia has said passenger numbers are to increase following an initial steep decline in figures. Fraport is building a brand new terminal in Ljubljana, as they wanted to improve their quality and conditions, in addition to making space as a result of increasing passenger numbers.

In the coming year, European airlines who started services to Slovenia as a result of Adria’s demise will continue to operate services. These include Brussels Airlines flying to Brussels, Swiss flying to Zurich, and Lufthansa flying to Germany. Additionally, Iberia will begin operations to Joze Pucnik airport during the summer months. Due to this and airlines such as Air Serbia increasing frequencies to Ljubljana, it is expected that passenger numbers will flourish again.