STA, 27 September 2019 - The flight cancellations by Slovenia's troubled airline Adria Airways have increased demand for and accordingly the supply by rival carriers already operating the Ljubljana route. The first changes are already being made to the winter schedules, while new carriers are reportedly also expressing interest to start flying to Ljubljana.
The airport's operator Fraport Slovenija told the STA on Friday that current data showed Air France increased the number of flights per week from six to 13 and is also using larger capacity aircraft if needed.
LOT Polish Airlines added one flight to its seven per week and is also flying more frequently with the larger Boeing B737.
Air Serbia is also frequently resorting to the Airbus A319 solution in place of the smaller ATR planes, Montenegro Airlines has increased the number of flights from four to five, and Russia's Aeroflotis is also increasing capacity by using Airbus A319 planes instead of the Sukhois.
Turkish Airlines is preserving its number of flights so far, but Fraport said it would secure larger planes if needed.
The airport operator said Adria's cancellations had also boosted interest in the airport on the part of new carriers, but no details could yet be provided.
Also responding are airports in neighbouring countries, with Austria's Klagenfurt airport for instance posting an ad in the Slovenian newspaper Delo.
The Graz airport in Austria could also benefit, as Lufthansa has announced it would revive its Graz-Frankfurt route at the end of October.
Also noted have been ads by foreign carriers which are inviting Slovenian pilots among their ranks.
Meanwhile, Adria announced today it would execute but two evening flights to Frankfurt this weekend.
For Monday, the plan is to execute 11 flights: to Frankfurt, München, Brussels, Zürich and Vienna. Return flights will be carried out for all these destinations as well, while Adria also plans to fly from Ljubljana to Tirana, the company said today.
Adria's owner, the German turnaround fund 4K, is still waiting for the government to decide whether to grant it the EUR 4 million in aid which 4K claims can prevent receivership. According to the newspaper Finance, a decision could already come today.
It is unlikely that aid in this form will occur. This has also been stressed by Prime Minister Marjan Šarec, while Economy Minister Zdravko Počivalšek said Adria would not get a single euro from the state as long as it is owned by 4K.
All out stories about Adria are here
