New terminal in May

Dubrovnik Airport's new terminal

In May, just before the start of the high summer tourist season, Dubrovnik Airport will open the doors of its new, multi million Euro, terminal (terminal B), which is currently the largest infrastructure project in the country. The new terminal stretches over 13.700 square metres and has 2 air bridges connecting the terminal building with aircraft. It is the first airport in Croatia to have air bridges.

In the arrivals hall, located at the ground floor of the terminal, one will find 3 conveyer belts for baggage claim, 2 for international flights and 1 for domestic services. The first and second floors stretch over 1.300 square metres and will contain 4 gates and 2 air bridges. Offices and a gallery will be placed on the third floor. The new terminal will also have retail space of up to 575 square metres where a duty free shop, 2 coffee bars and a bistro, as well as tour operators’ offices will be located. A VIP lounge will take up 125 square metres.

Dubrovnik Airport will become the most modern airport in Croatia, well in front of the country’s main airport, Zagreb, which is still pondering over the construction of a new terminal.

New flights to Belgrade

Soon in Belgrade

Another airline recently announced new flights to Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport. The low cost Danish airline Cimber Sterling will commence 3 weekly flights from Copenhagen to Belgrade using its Boeing B737-700. Flights are set to commence on March 29. Cimber Air merged parts of Sterling Airlines into its network after the latter proclaimed bankruptcy in late 2008. Interestingly, most of Sterling’s fleet was grounded in Belgrade upon the bankruptcy announcement as the airline used Jat Tehnika to service its aircraft.

Cimber Sterling will be in direct competition with Jat Airways on the route. Although ticket prices vary, an average return ticket with Cimber Sterling on this service will set passengers back 200 Euros (all taxes included). On the other hand, the average price with Jat Airways amounts to 255 Euros (all taxes included).

Meanwhile, rumours are circulating that Spanair will commence scheduled flights between Barcelona and Belgrade from the 2010 summer season. If these rumours become a reality, it would be the first time in 19 years that the two cities have been connected via a direct scheduled air service.

Maribor terminal expansion

15 million Euro overhaul for Maribor Airport

The Slovenian Transport Ministry is to launch an infrastructure overhaul at the Edvard Rusjan Airport in Maribor, Slovenia's second largest airport. The 15 million Euro project, which will be mostly funded by the European Regional Development Fund, is expected to be complete in 2013. The head of the Slovenian Civil Aviation Directorate, Mirko Komac, told the press in Ljubljana that the project was a logical follow-up to the modernisation of the airport infrastructure carried out from 2004 through to 2007.

The planned revamp is aimed at improving the quality of services, contributing to the development of the region and boosting the competitiveness of the airport, Komac said. He added that investments were a prerequisite for a strong, market-oriented presentation of the airport's international transport capacities. The project includes the extension and overhaul of the passenger terminal, drafting of the airport's master plan and the refurbishment of the airport buildings, Damjan Horvat of the directorate explained. The reconstruction of the terminal will be carried out by construction company SCT and is expected to be concluded in 2011. The master plan, which will provide a development concept through to 2040, will be created by Airport Consulting Vienna and the Ljubljana Urban Planning Institute. It is also expected to be complete in 2011.

The Transport Ministry has prepared documentation to call for applications for a long-term lease of Maribor Airport. The documentation is expected to be published in early February, the ministry said, adding that there is a lot of interest.

Meanwhile, Ljubljana Airport is planning a new passenger terminal, which is expected to be finished in 2012, while the new control centre at Slovenia's main international airport is expected to be complete by April 2011.

Maribor Airport is currently not being served by any airline. It will cater for several airlines, including the national carrier Adria Airways for 2 weeks in April, as a result of Ljubljana Airport’s closure during its runway overhaul. The airport was, for a short time, served by Ryanair in 2008 before the budget carrier completely terminated operations in Slovenia.

Croatia dumps Belgrade and delays Athens

In Athens from June 10

Despite plans to begin flights to the Serbian capital on May 1, 2010, Croatia Airlines has dumped the proposed flights which were to operate 4 times per week using the airline’s new Dash 8 aircraft. Flights between the 2 cities would have been resumed after some 19 years. The airline also recently announced that it was withdrawing from Rijeka with the termination of its 1 weekly flight to London. Croatia Airlines is also terminating seasonal flights from Zagreb to Gothenburg and Dubrovnik to London.

However, from March 28, Croatia Airlines will commence non-stop flights to Rome. This compliments the 5 weekly service via Split and 2 weekly via Dubrovnik. The flights will operate with the Dash 8. Meanwhile, the launch of the airline’s new service to Athens has been pushed back from April 29 to June 10. The 3 weekly flights from Zagreb will operate only on a seasonal summer basis.

In the midst of its summer timetable reshuffling, the Croatian national carrier is also bracing itself for strike action. All of the airline’s unions are preparing a 1 day strike on February 11. If their demands are not met further strikes will be organised. They are unhappy with proposed pay cuts.

The insured fly with Jat

Jat hoping for bigger queues with free travel insurance

All passengers purchasing a return ticket with Jat Airways to a destination within the European Union will now receive free travel insurance, valid during the flight and throughout their stay at their desired destination. The news comes as the company “DDOR Novi Sad” won the public tender.

Health insurance cards for Serbian citizens are not valid in the European Union and they are thus obliged to have travel insurance in a foreign country. Their insurance will be covered simply by buying a return ticket on Jat Airways. The insurance covers up to 5.000 Euros of medical expenses resulting from an unforeseen illness or as a consequence of an accident that occurred during their stay abroad. The insurance will cover the passenger’s costs of necessary hospital or clinical treatment, medicines, medical supplies, transport to the nearest hospital, urgent surgeries due to acute disease, dental treatment due to acute problems, transport to their country of residence and other types of assistance.

"By introducing free travel insurance, our wish is to prove that our care for passengers is not only limited to the time they spend onboard our aircraft", Jat Airways CEO, Srdjan Radovanović, said adding that, "Between numerous companies trying to win over the attention of every passenger, those that succeed will be those that take care of their passengers and try to meet their demands in the best possible way by constantly introducing new services".

The new amenity could particularly entice private companies purchasing tickets for their employees travelling on business. The introduction of free travel insurance is another service outlined in Jat’s 2010 recovery plan. The airline hopes to transport 1.5 million passengers by the end of 2010.

Croatia Airlines dumps Rijeka

Croatia Airlines - a distant memory for Rijeka

Rijeka Airport has not had a good start to the year. The airport has lost most of its funding and is now loosing a customer. Croatia Airlines will terminate its only service from the airport - seasonal summer flights to London. In a statement, the airline explains its decision, “Due to business rationalisation and the restructuring of our timetable, Croatia Airlines will terminate flights from Rijeka to London during the summer of 2010. One of the reasons for such action is the low profitability of these flights”. The airline also states that it has no plans to introduce any new services from Rijeka and will therefore completely withdraw from the airport.

Rijeka Airport is also fighting a battle not to loose its status as an international airport. The director of the airport, Mladen Pasarić, believes that the airport will be hit hard by Croatia Airlines’ decision. “I believe that the termination of this service, which catered for our diaspora in the United States, is damaging, especially since tickets were selling well. For us, the damage is even greater. It’s not the same when the national carrier reduces frequencies rather than when it completely withdraws from your airport. Honestly, we thought that frequencies on this service would be increased due to high interest”, Pasarić said.

For the 2010 summer season, Croatia Airlines will be decreasing frequencies from some Croatian airports.

Under the open sky

More flights to Serbia

The Secretary General of the Association of European Airlines , Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, met with the Serb minister for Infrastructure on January 15 to discuss the outcomes of the liberalisation of Serbia’s aviation policy. "In the past weeks, the Serbian Government implemented a number of measures designed to facilitate travel; these include a visa waiver programme for EU citizens, coined the ‘White Schengen’, and a unilateral suspension of traffic right restrictions between Serbia and EU countries. In the first month since the implementation of these measures, traffic has soared between Serbia and EU countries by 20%, despite the general economic downturn", the AEA informed. Mr Schulte-Strathaus also met the Serbian Transport minister, Mr. Mrkonjić, thanking him on behalf of the AEA for this market oriented policy, which he credited the minister for having initiated. “This is good news for the consumer, the industry and the economic perspectives of this region”, The AEA Secretary General said. “It requires political courage to liberalise markets in times of economic turmoil, I must say, we are impressed by the action taken by the minister to promote competition in our sector”.

Schulte-Strathaus said the entire region would stand to benefit from this market oriented approach and welcomed a conference, to be hosted by the Serbian Government at the end of February entitled “Open Sky over the territory of Serbia after the abolition of the visa regime“. Mr Schulte-Strathaus also met with the CEO of Jat Airways, Mr. Radovanović . “Jat Airways is one of the longest serving members of our association”, he said. “With this policy, Jat Airways positions itself in a region with high potential for sustainable growth. We look forward to a close cooperation with Jat Airways on how the interests of the consumers in this region can be best secured”.

The following airlines have recently commenced or announced plans of beginning new flights to Serbian airports:

Airline	Destination	Frequency	Start date
TAROM	Bucharest	3 p/w	07.12.2009
MALEV	Budapest	7 p/w (11 p/w from April 2010)	14.12.2009
Wind Jet	Forli (from Niš)	1 p/w	26.12.2009
Aegean Airlines	Athens	7 p/w	01.01.2010
Niki	Vienna	7 p/w	01.02.2010
Montenegro Airlines	Podgorica (from Niš)	2 p/w	February 2010
Adria Airways	Ljubljana	6 p/w	01.03.2010
airBaltic	Riga	4 p/w	05.05.2010

Adria moving to Maribor

Maribor Airport passenger terminal

Due to runway renovation which will be carried out between April 7 and 21, 2010, Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport will be closed to all traffic. During the closure Adria Airways flights will be operated from Maribor Airport, located in Slovenia‘s North East. Free coach transfer will be arranged for passengers from Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport to Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport. Coach transfers are planned approximately 3 hours before estimated departure times. During Ljubljana Airport’s closure parking for passengers will be free of charge.

Due to Ljubljana’s closure some flights in the Adria network will be cancelled. Other airline’s will also have to relocate flights, although most will cancel their services. You can read more about Ljubljana’s runway upgrade here. It will be an odd sight at Miarbior as the airport is not served by any airline.

Tivat Airport in 2009

Tivat Airport passenger terminal

Montenegro’s second international airport, Tivat, saw passenger numbers decline by 7% in 2009. As a result, a total of 532.156 passengers were handled, down from 570.636 in 2008. A total of 4.226 aircraft operations took place at the airport, decreasing by 9% compared to the year before. The declining passenger numbers are blamed on the global financial crisis. In total, Montenegro’s 2 airports, Podgorica and Tivat, handled 982.456 passengers in 2009, compared to 1.109.113 in 2008. Notably, passenger figures significantly increased in December of 2009, compared to 2008, thanks to the abolishment of EU visa restrictions for Montenegrin citizens.

In 2009, Tivat Airport undertook an important project – the expansion of the aircraft parking platforms which now allows for aircraft such as the Boeing B737 and Airbus A320 to safely park. The investment was worth 2.5 million Euros.

Sky Srpska delayed

Deserted until further notice – Banja Luka Airport

The launch of the national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entity Republika Srpska has been delayed by another year. Original plans set the timeframe for the launch for January 2009. Back then it was delayed for January 2010 and has now, for the third time, been delayed by yet another year.

Nedeljko Čubrilović, the transport minister of Republika Srpska said that the Banja Luka based airline would receive its first aircraft in late 2010 and the second in January 2011. The 80 seater aircraft purchase would be wholly funded by the Government itself. Zoran Injac, the CEO of the airline, says that Sky Srpska would begin operations with 2 scheduled destinations but would also operate charter flights. Injac notes that setting up an airline is a difficult task, but with the help of the Government and other related agencies the airline could succeed.

This a second attempt at setting up an airline in Republika Srpska. The first, Air Srpska, was launched by Jat in the late 1990s with the Serbian airline providing aircraft and crew. After the United Nations sanctions, imposed on Serbia and Montenegro (then Yugoslavia), were lifted Jat withdrew its 2 ATRs from the Air Srpska fleet and, as a result, the airline ceased all operations.

Sky Srpska’s launch would ensure a big boost for Banja Luka Airport which is currently only served by the national carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina, B&H Airlines.

Mont Air rises from the dead

Macedonia calling

The Croatian charter carrier Dubrovnik Airline has leased its 2 MD82s to its Macedonian subsidiary Mont Air. In 2010 Dubrovnik Airline hopes to launch flights from Skopje to Western European destinations through Mont Air, despite the fact that recently the airline announced it was axing plans on launching the Macedonian airline and even discontinued its license approval application.

The CEO of Dubrovnik Airline, Zeno Singer, says that the establishment of the new airline in Macedonia will only strengthen Dubrovnik Airline’s position in the region. The MD82s will be leased to Mont Air for the next 18 months and will leave Croatia by the end of January. Singer says that, as a result, Dubrovnik Airline will begin with its fleet renewal process. An Airbus A320 will enter the airline’s fleet in May, joining the existing fleet of 1 MD82 and 2 MD83s (excluding the 2 leased aircraft to Mont Air).

Little is known of Mont Air. Dubrovnik Airline will provide both the crew and technical support for the airline. It is believed that Mont Air is a mixed business venture between Dubrovnik Airline and Albanian businesses operating in Macedonia. Mont Air will first have to gain a license in order to begin operations.

So far, Mat Airways is also hoping to establish services from Macedonia in spring, while Aeromak, another start up hopeful was rejected by the Macedonian Civil Aviation Directorate.

Dubrovnik Airline ended 2009 with a 2.5 million Euro loss, blamed on the global financial crisis.

Emergency at Belgrade

Austrian Airlines Fokker F100

An Austrian Airlines Fokker F100, registration OE-LVL performing flight OS774 from Belgrade to Vienna with 83 passengers and 5 crew, were preparing for departure from Belgrade when the left hand engine began to emit smoke during the engine start. Passengers and crew were evacuated while no injuries occurred. Serbian media reported that the plane was about to take off when the pilots in the cockpit were informed that both engines were on fire. Passengers and crew were evacuated via the aircraft’s emergency slides within 20 minutes. The flight was cancelled with passengers transferred onto Jat Airways’ flight to Vienna.

A number of media in Serbia first reported that the aircraft took off and returned to Belgrade with both engines on fire while others reported a rejected takeoff due to a smoking engine. The latter is the confirmed, correct, version of events. The incident occurred while the aircraft was still parked at the gate.

Austrian offers 3 daily flights from Vienna to Belgrade. The aircraft involved in the incident, named Odessa, is 18 years old and operated for Austrian Arrows. Airport authorities have launched a probe into the incident. All of the airport’s emergency services were seen near the aircraft.

Croatian airports in 2009

Osijek Airport – biggest improver in 2009

The majority of Croatian airports ended the year of the global financial crisis mostly unscathed with small passenger losses. One of the worst months for all airports in Croatia was December 2009 when airports such as Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Pula and Zadar recorded a traffic decrease of more than 10% when compared to December 2008 while the number of passengers handled on behalf of Rijeka Airport decreased by 69%.

Overall in 2009, Zagreb Airport handled 2.056.388 passengers, a decrease of 5.7%. Both Split and Dubrovnik also saw passenger numbers decreasing between 5 and 7%. Both airports handled over 1 million passengers. The worst performer of the year was Pula whose traffic decreased by 20.8%. The airport handled 302.448 passengers, compared to 381.680 in 2008. This is despite the fact that aircraft movement at the airport did not decrease by a large margin.

Zadar and Osijek have survived the year with a major increase in traffic and passengers, showing that the 2 airports were not following the trends of others in the country. Passenger numbers at Zadar increased by 34.9%. The airport handled 195.163 passengers. The airport also recorded an increase in aircraft operations of up to 124.1%, mostly thanks to the arrival of the low cost Ryanair. The most successful airport of the year, when compared to 2008, is Osijek which saw passenger numbers increase by 37.8%. Meanwhile, Rijeka, which is having financial problems, managed to report growth of less than half a percent.

The following table displays the passenger change that airports in Croatia had in 2009, compared to last year.

Airport	Passengers 2008	Passengers 2009	Change (%)
Zagreb	2.179.756	2.056.388	-5.7
Dubrovnik	1.177.510	1.109.934	-5.7
Pula	381.680	302.448	-20.8
Split	1.171.179	1.080.121	-7.8
Zadar	144.708	195.163	+34.9
Osijek	14.883	20.503	+37.8
Rijeka	109.706	110.208	+0.5