STA, 3 February 2022 - Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair, which opened a base at Zagreb airport last year and also flies to Trieste, has no plans to fly to and from Ljubljana in the near future, the EX-YU Aviation web portal reported on Thursday. The company says that the two airports cover Slovenia well enough, and also sees high costs as a problem.
The EX-YU Aviation portal stated that Fraport Slovenia, the company that operates the Ljubljana Airport, expressed willingness to resume talks with Ryanair on flights to and from Ljubljana towards the end of 2021, confirming that talks had already taken place in the past.
Ryanair has considered introducing flights to Ljubljana on several occasions over the past decade, and the budget airline also briefly maintained flights between London Stansted and Maribor in 2007 and 2008.
However, Ryanair said in a statement to EX-YU Aviation on Thursday that Ljubljana is served well enough by their base in Zagreb and is also in close proximity to Trieste Airport, from which the company maintains flights to a number of destinations.
"There are currently few chances for Ljubljana to be included in our network", Ryanair concluded. The carrier also accused Fraport of "high and uncompetitive fees", which are expected to lead to the closure of Ryanair's base at Frankfurt Airport by the end of March.
After the Covid crisis hit Ljubljana Airport hard, its operator Fraport Slovenia is now working to find new partners and destinations, also with the support of state funds, to promote the restoration of Slovenia's air connectivity.
After a severe shock due to the epidemic, the airport slightly recovered last year and counted 430,943 passengers, almost 50% more than in 2020, but still remains a far cry from just over 1.7 million passengers recorded in 2019.
In the busiest months of July and August, 17 scheduled airlines linked Ljubljana Airport to the world, while currently 12 scheduled carriers fly from Ljubljana Airport to 13 destinations. Fraport expects the outlook for the summer season to be promising as well.
