Ex-Yu Aviation reports that passenger numbers are looking up again at Ljubljana Airport, after last year’s collapse of Adria Airways saw Slovenia lose 60% of its international seat capacity, and that the recovery should be further boosted by the business hub that’s developing in the area.
With regard to flights, post-Adria, a growing number of carriers have announced plans to increase the frequency of services offered to and from Ljubljana, such as Aeroflot, Air France, Air Serbia, British Airways, Finnair, Montenegro Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa Swiss International Air Lines and Transavia, while the Slovene government is in talks to with three European regional carriers to subsidise flights to and from Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Brussels.
Turning to the business hub, a spokesperson for the airport’s operator, Fraport, is quoted as saying: "When you enter the airport, the first thing you notice is the growing Brnik Business District. TNT Express Worldwide, Cargo-partner and Kuehne + Nagel have already set up their own logistics hubs here. UPS Adria Ekspres is building a logistics centre as well, and Iskra Mehanizmi and SchaferRolls are constructing their facilities here too. More than half of the plots are, or will shortly be, under long-term leases, while some of the bigger plots are still available.” No word, though, on whether a hotel operator is interested in one of these plots.
Fraport thus remains confident with regard to the airport’s new terminal, work on which started in the summer of 2019, with the opening due to take place in June 2021, in time for just Slovenia's six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The new terminal will operate in conjunction with the renovated existing terminal, raising capacity from 500 to 1,280 passengers per hour.
