Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport is working on increasing the number of flights operated by low cost carriers (LCCs). Speaking to “Bloomberg Adria”, the General Manager of operator Fraport Slovenija, Babett Stapel, said, “We have several objectives, but one of the biggest challenges is that we would like to increase the share of low cost carriers. We have good coverage by full service airlines, but low cost would surely add to our business. That doesn’t mean we want to become a low cost hub”. Ms Stapel added, “Low cost carriers have a share of about 20% at our airport, so we would like that to increase but we are not a hub airport, so our connectivity depends on serving the hubs since low cost carriers do not necessarily serve the main hubs. We need hubs to be served for connectivity. Our goal is to reach a 30% LCC share”.
Commenting on the ongoing support offered to airlines by the Slovenian government to improve the country’s air connectivity, Ms Stapel noted, “Since April 2023, the government has been supporting the launch of new destinations. Thanks to the great work of the Ministry for Infrastructure, we have four new destinations in our portfolio: Luxembourg, Riga, Copenhagen, and Madrid. The Slovenian Tourist Board is also doing an incredible job for inbound traffic. I also must highlight that we [the airport] have an incentive scheme in place, giving heavy discounts. For example, one of these incentives is prolonging the state aid for another three years. It was a request made by airlines participating in the scheme for the support to be extended”.
According to the General Manager, Ljubljana Airport is on track to handle 1.4 million passengers this year. “In 2023, we exceeded the threshold of serving one million passengers. Our medium- to long-term goal is to exceed two million passengers”, Ms Stapel said. Commenting on the potential establishment of a new Slovenian flag carrier to replace Adria Airways, which declared bankruptcy in September 2019, Ms Stapel noted, “It is not my place to comment on whether Slovenia needs a national airline, however, I would note that times have changed, and we are recovering well now. The routes that have potential have already been taken”.
