The Slovenian government is closing in on a decision about whether to create a replacement airline for former flag-carrier Adria Airways, which ceased operations in September 2019.
Star Alliance member Adria Airways operated three Airbus A319s, nine CRJ900s, two CRJ700s and six Saab 2000 turboprops to 20 scheduled destinations from its main hubs in Ljubljana (Slovenia), Pristina (Kosovo) and Tirana (Albania). The airline also performed wet-lease work for mainline carriers, including Austrian Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines.
German restructuring specialist 4K Invest took over Adria in August 2016. However, after emerging from a period of Slovenian Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) supervision in 2018, Adria encountered further financial problems. The airline’s operations became unstable, several of Adria’s aircraft were repossessed, and the company ultimately declared bankruptcy in September 2019, ceasing operations immediately.
A Slovenian government spokesperson has confirmed that the Ministry of Infrastructure is now studying “several different options” to improve air connectivity, and one of these proposals is to establish a new national carrier. “The decision will be made in the coming weeks,” the spokesperson said.
A detailed study is underway, the spokesperson said, evaluating potential economic benefits of the new airline, legal options for its establishment, and “possible organizational models.”
“We cannot confirm at this point if, or when, the new air carrier could start operating,” the spokesperson said.
Ljubljana Airport, which has been Adria’s main base, grew from 1.7 million in 2017 to 1.8 million in 2018. However, this dropped back down to 1.7 million passengers in 2019, when Adria failed.
“Foreign carriers acted fast, stepping in for the lost connections,” a spokesperson for Ljubljana Airport operator Fraport told Aviation Daily. “In the beginning of 2020 more than half of the lost traffic had been restored.”
However, the exact impact of Adria’s failure is masked by the coronavirus pandemic, which caused Ljubljana’s traffic to plummet to 291,000 passengers in 2020. These numbers rose to 430,000 in 2021, increasing to 977,000 in 2022, but are still a long way below the 1.8 million passengers handled in 2018.
“We plan to reach 1.2 million passengers in 2023 and estimate to recover to the pre-COVID numbers by 2026,” the Fraport spokesperson said. They added that former connections with the Balkans have only been partially restored, and transfer passengers are expected to remain 300,000 down from pre-pandemic levels in 2023.
“We are aware that a study is being carried out to show the economic effects of a possible new airline, but haven’t been included in the talks,” the Fraport spokesperson said. “The findings and the decisions of the government haven’t been disclosed yet.”
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