Ex-Yu Aviation reports that Israir Airlines, Israel’s third largest carrier, is launching flights between Tel Aviv and Ljubljana. The service scheduled to run from late May until October 13, with three additional charter flights during Passover, in mid-April. The flights replaces those previously operated by the collapsed Adria Airways, and join those offered seasonally by Sun d’Or Airlines.

The service will be met by a 180-seat Airbus A320, and starts on 23 May with two flights a week. On Tuesday the plane leaves Tel Aviv at 17:20, arriving in Ljubljana 20:00; while on Saturday the flight leaves at 11:35 and arrives at 14:15. Going in the other direction, from Slovenia to Israel, the service leaves at 21:40 Tuesday and 15:15 Saturday, arriving at 02:00 Wednesday and 19:35 (Tues).

As reported by Ex-Yu Aviation, Qatar Airways is planning to hire cabin crew based in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, with registration for Slovenia and Serbia required by February 15. You can apply online, and applicants who make it to the shortlist will then be invited to an open day in Ljubljana, the date of which remains to be announced.

While the news does suggest the airline could soon start flights between Ljubljana and Doha, something it’s been considering since 2017, as yet nothing is scheduled and no contracts signed.

Those interested in the positions, which despite the picture in the hiring ad, as shown at the top of this page, is open to both men and women, must meet the following requirements:

• Minimum of 21 years old
• Minimum arm reach of 212 cm
• High school diploma
• Fluency in written and spoken English
• Outgoing personality with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work within a multinational team
• A love of travel
• Passionate about customer service
• Excellent health and fitness
• Willingness to relocate to Doha, Qatar

More details can be found here.

After some years of plans that remained unrealised, Ex-Yu Aviation reports that the Ukrainian carrier Windrose Airlines is to start flights between Kiev and Ljubljana this summer. The service starts on 30 April and will operate twice weekly, on Tuesday and Sunday, with the schedule set to end in October, unless demand is greater than expected in the low season. The flights are scheduled to leave Kiev at 11:10 and arrive in Ljubljana 12:10, while they’ll take off from Slovenia at 12:50 and touchdown in Ukraine at 16:10.

The best source for news on air travel in the region, Ex-Yu Aviation, has more good news for those still worried about holes in the schedule due to the collapse of the (perhaps soon to be revived) Adria Airways.

First, Turkish Airlines has announced plans to increase capacity for the summer season, starting late March 2020, by using a 178-seat Airbus A321 on its morning and evening services. Moreover, for the peak season – 3 May to 23 October – the second flight of the day will be served by a 289-seat Airbus A330-300, giving a total daily capacity of 467 seats each way from Ljubljana to Istanbul.

The website also reports that Air Serbia is boosting its schedule this summer, with 17 weekly flights planned between Ljubljana and Belgrade, up from 12 in summer 2019.

STA, 9 January 2020 - The new operator of Bovec airport, a grass airfield in the Julian Alps, has decided to bring skiers from around Slovenia to the town of Bovec in the north-west by plane. The town hopes this service will help it stand out in Europe.

The airport's operator Aviofun intends to partner up with other smaller airfields around Slovenia in providing the full service to visitors of the Kanin-Sella Nevea ski slopes.

From Bovec, skiers will be taken to the ski slopes on Mt Kanin, the highest ski slopes in the country, by van.

The first flight took place on 2 January, and according to the Bovec municipality, which owns the airfield, the flight from the other part of Slovenia, Libeliče in the north, took 35 minutes.

"We want to offer something new to Bovec locals and visitors to the Soča Valley, so we'll also operate the route with small planes in the summer," Aviofun director Damjan Cehner told the STA.

The company expects to receive a licence to operate commercial passenger flights shortly, he added.

Aviofun was founded in 2005 and offers charter flights, panoramic flights, skydiving, maintenance, continuing airworthiness (CAMO) and aerial photography, according to its website. It operates Pilatus PC-6, Cessna Caravan C208 and Cessna C172 planes.

Cehnar believes flights will be a huge advantage for Bovec.

"Since we believe in the project we will shortly bring in another, bigger 15-seat plane with a special area for skiing equipment," he said when the first flight was organised.

The project was also welcomed by Mayor Valter Mlekuž, who hopes it would better connect the Kanin ski slopes and the municipality with the world.

More than 3,000 skiers skied on Kanin's ski slopes between 31 December and 2 January, with many also crossing onto the Slovenian side from Italy.

Several years ago a joint ski pass was introduced with the near-by Italian ski slope of Sella Nevea.

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.

Adria Airways finally collapsed in 2019, with investigations as to the role of its owner, 4K Invest, in the affair still ongoing. Since the closure of the erstwhile national carrier a number of airlines have stepped in to fill the more profitable gaps in the schedule, while the Slovenian government is said to be in talks with regard to subsidising some other routes.

Meanwhile, what remains of Adria is being auctioned off, with the sale of its various licenses and permits expected in the coming weeks. Ex-Yu Aviation reports that the firm’s Air Operator Certificate (AOC) – which allows the holder to run commercial flights – is being offered at a starting price of €45,000. Purchasing the AOC would enable the new owner to restart Adria’s previous services from Slovenia and other EU Member States.

However, before you reach for your wallet note that the AOC would only be useful to a buyer who purchased Adria’s entire estate, as well as agreed to take on a number of obligations that remain after the carrier’s bankruptcy.

Two prominent names from Slovenian business who have been mentioned in connection with purchasing Adria’s assets are Joc Pečečnik, the founder of Interblock Gaming, and the “banana tycoon” (and property developer) Izet Rastoder.

STA, 26 December 2019 - Although Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport has lost its biggest client, carrier Adria Airways, this year, operator Fraport Slovenia is confident that the business hub around the country's biggest airport will continue to grow in the coming years.

Two big cargo hubs opened this year, while Fraport Slovenija has launched the construction of a new passenger terminal, which is set to open before Slovenia's EU presidency in the second half of 2021.

The EUR 21 million investment follows years of passenger growth, with the total number of passengers exceeding 1.8 million last year. But shortly after construction started, Adria Airways went into receivership.

Slovenia's former flag carrier transported the bulk of its passengers through Ljubljana. But after the initial plunge in flights and passengers this autumn, other carriers have stepped in and restored most major routes.

"Traffic is picking up just as forecast. We are not building the terminal only because of passenger growth but also because we want to improve the standard and the quality of our service," Fraport Slovenija has said.

Apart from the new terminal, the operator is going forward with a host of other investments, worth a total of EUR 40 million. This includes utilities and roads in the growing Ljubljana Airport City, an area covering some 15 hectares.

"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," Fraport said.

UPS Adria (S) Ekspres is building a logistics facility as well, and Iskra Mehanizmi and SchäferRolls are building their facilities here, the operator added.

More than half of the plots are or will shortly be under long-term lease, while some of the bigger plots are still available, said Fraport.

It added that the fast-growing number of routes, following Adria Airways receivership, is restoring investor trust.

Ex-Yu Aviation reports that the Slovenian government is planning to support connections with the capital by subsiding flights between Ljubljana and Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich and Brussels, all key hubs served by the Lufthansa Group. The subsidies would increase the frequency on these routes, and to some extent make up for the loss in services due to the collapse of Adria Airways. Talks have said to have been held with three unnamed European regional carriers, with more news on the plans expected in the new year.

STA, 18 December 2019 - The Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC – aka “the bad bank”) is in talks with potential partners to increase flight frequencies on routes connecting Ljubljana with Frankfurt, Munich, Zürich and Brussels following the bankruptcy of air carrier Adria Airways, its director Matej Pirc told the STA.

 While Lufthansa and its affiliates quickly filled the gaps on these routes, which are considered key hubs for Slovenian business executives and for tourism, there have been complaints about schedules, in particular about the absence of morning flights to Brussels often used by public administration officials.

Pirc said the bad bank was in talks with "European regional carriers" to increase flight frequency on these routes. Up to three carriers, which he would not name, would operate the additional flights in exchange for government subsidies.

The scenario is in the works after the government abandoned plans to set up a new national carrier due to excessive risk. According to Pirc, calculations showed the new carrier would post an annual loss of roughly EUR 8 million in the long term.

The subsidies would achieve the same goal - improving connectivity with European airports - but their advantage is cost control. The period of subsidies would be limited as well, he said.

As a result, the annual cost to the state would be lower and "significantly easier to manage" than a capital injection that would be necessary to get a new carrier off the ground.

Pirc admitted, however, that subsidies are "not simple", otherwise other countries would use them more frequently as well. "We expect that all these issues will be known at the start of next year."