Sarajevo International Airport recorded its strongest May on record, handling 202,074 passengers, an increase of 2.4% compared to the same month last year. During the month, aircraft movements decreased by 3.8%, while cargo volumes declined by 3.5%.
In the first five months of 2026, the airport welcomed 747,444 passengers, representing an increase of 30,471 travelers, or 4.2%, compared to the corresponding period in 2025.
Source: Zahid Krkić and Sarajevo International Airport
During April, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s four international airports handled a total of 283.844 passengers. Sarajevo International Airport recorded the highest traffic with 177.186 passengers, followed by Tuzla International Airport with 64.296 passengers, Banja Luka International Airport with 36.802 passengers, and Mostar International Airport with 5.560 passengers. Compared to April 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded an 11% increase in passenger traffic, representing an additional 27.090 passengers.
Bosnia and Herzegovina  |  |
 Sarajevo (SJJ) |  |
 Tuzla (TZL) |  |
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 Mostar (OMO) |  |
Sarajevo International Airport recorded a decline in passenger traffic in April 2026, as operational disruptions and temporary capacity reductions offset earlier strong growth in the year. The airport handled 177.186 passengers in April 2026, a 4,7% decrease compared to April 2025 (when 185.911 passengers were handled ). The drop in passengers comes due to cancellation of several flights from Gulf destinations, which typically contribute high load factors and strong inbound demand.
In addition, several European routes saw reduced frequencies including services by Croatia Airlines from Zagreb, Eurowings from Cologne, Scandinavian Airlines from Copenhagen, and Turkish Airlines from Istanbul. These cuts were linked to fuel supply constraints impacting airline operations, resulting in reduced seat availability throughout April and contributing to the overall decline in passenger traffic.
Aircraft movements still increased by 1.6%, rising to 1.606 operations compared to 1.581 in April last year. Cargo volumes remained stable at 303,2 tons, unchanged from April 2025
Despite the April dip, Sarajevo Airport continues to show overall growth in 2026, with passenger traffic up approximately 5% year-to-date.
With the summer peak travel months approaching, the restoration of Gulf connectivity and normalization of European frequencies will be critical. If these disruptions are resolved, Sarajevo is well positioned to return to growth trajectory in the coming months.
Source: Sarajevo Airport and Zahid Krkić
Ryanair recently marked the first anniversary of its flights between Sarajevo and Girona. During the first quarter of 2026, the Sarajevo–Girona route recorded 7.895 passengers across 52 flights, achieving an average load factor of 80%, or approximately 152 passengers per flight.
The airline commenced its scheduled service between Girona Airport (GRO) and Sarajevo International Airport (SJJ) on April 2, 2025. Operated twice weekly with Boeing 737-800 aircraft, the route demonstrated strong performance during its inaugural year (from April 2 to December 31, 2025), transporting 28.171 passengers and recording an average load factor of 84%.
Source: Zahid Krkić
Sarajevo International Airport had been on track to achieve record-breaking flight frequencies and seat capacity for the 2026 summer season. However, escalating geopolitical tensions namely the military actions by the United States and Israel targeting Iran and Lebanon, followed by Iran’s retaliatory strikes on U.S. military bases in the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have led to widespread airspace closures and significant flight disruptions.
Prior to these developments, Sarajevo Airport was projected to offer its highest-ever capacity, with approximately 2,2 million seats scheduled between April and November 2026.
As a result of the ongoing conflict and associated fuel shortages, several airlines have either suspended or reduced their operations to Sarajevo:
• Qatar Airways has fully canceled its seasonal summer service between Doha and Sarajevo, eliminating a key connection through its Doha hub and resulting in a loss of approximately 22.000 seats.
• Jazeera Airways had planned to commence daily flights between Kuwait City and Sarajevo starting April 1, however, due to military activity in the region, operations have been suspended until May 15, affecting nearly 15.000 seats scheduled during this period.
• Flydubai has reduced its Dubai–Sarajevo service from four to five weekly flights down to two, decreasing capacity by around 4.000 seats.
• Flynas has scaled back its services from both Jeddah and Riyadh through May 15, cutting approximately 5.000 seats.
• Salam Air will end its Muscat–Sarajevo route two weeks earlier than planned, reducing capacity by 2,500 seats.
• Additionally, Turkish Airlines will reduce its Sarajevo operations between July and October as follows: departures will decrease from 93 to 80 in July, 93 to 77 in August, 90 to 77 in September, and 89 to 62 in October. Overall, scheduled departures for this period will drop from 367 to 296 flights, resulting in a loss of approximately 23,460 seats.
Despite these disruptions, Sarajevo Airport is still expected to offer slightly over 2 million seats during the summer schedule. With reduced capacity and sustained demand, many remaining flights are operating at or near full capacity, pushing load factors to record highs. Consequently, the airport may still approach last year’s passenger figures.
During the summer timetable, Sarajevo Airport will be served by 26 airlines, connecting it to 23 countries across 40 routes.
NEW ROUTES THIS SUMMER:
Source: Zahid Krkić
Bosnia and Herzegovina |  |
Sarajevo (SJJ) |  |
Tuzla (TZL) |  |
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Mostar (OMO) |  |
Sarajevo International Airport recorded another milestone in March of 2026, handling 136.258 passengers an 22% increase compared to the same month in 2025. This represents a year over year growth of 34.382 passengers, or 10% increase. Aircraft movements also rose by 11%. From January to April 2026, the airport welcomed a total of 368.184 passengers, marking a 10% increase or 34.382 more passengers when compared to the same period last year.
My prediction for 2026
Source: Zahid Krkić and Sarajevo Int. Airport
During the month of January, Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded 189.279 passengers going through its four international airports. Sarajevo Airport recorded 121.762 passengers followed by Tuzla with 34.989, Banja Luka 30.510, and Mostar with 2.018 passengers. When compared to January of 2025, Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded 13% passengers increase.
Bosnia and Herzegovina |  |
Sarajevo (SJJ) |  |
Tuzla (TZL) |  |
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Mostar (OMO) |  |
