✈ Air traffic data between Sarajevo, Tuzla and Cologne

During the last year, Cologne Airport in Germany was served from Sarajevo and Tuzla. Wizz Air started three weekly Sarajevo-Cologne service on December 15, 2021. just to discontinue it only ten months after, on October 31, 2022. due to the closure of its Sarajevo base. Wizz Air was directly competing with Eurowings on Sarajevo-Cologne route, operating with 180-seat Airbus 320 aircraft, while Eurowings was using Airbus 319 aircraft, offering 144 seats.

✈ Icar Air has purchased Saab-340F aircraft

Icar Air Saab-340F at Sarajevo Airport

Bosnian cargo airline Icar Air has purchased a SAAB-340 aircraft. The airline currently owns only recently purchased SAAB, registration E7-NEL. 

Icar Air has contracts with UPS and FEDEX for transport of cargo from/to Sarajevo to Zagreb, Ljubljana, Milan and Sofia. The airline's ICAO code is RAC. Icar Air is privately owned airline established 23 years ago.

 

E7-NEL Saab-340F ownership history

Source: Zahid Krkić

✈ NEWS for Sarajevo International Airport Summer 2024

In the upcoming summer season Sarajevo International Airport is set to break records in number of flights and passengers. Most of the airlines operating at Sarajevo International Airport will significantly increase the number of flights, offering a record number of seats.

With the arrival of Europe’s largest airline, Ryanair, the airport will be connected to six  new destinations:  Brussels, Gothenburg, London-STN, Memmingen, Milan-BGY and Thessaloniki. Ryanair will operate all routes twice a week except London, which will be served three times per week. Ryanair plans to introduce at least four more routes from Sarajevo  in a year time.

SunExpress Airlines is another new airline that will introduce flights to Sarajevo from Antalya and Izmir, both routes will be operated twice a week. Pegasus Airlines will introduce its second route from Sarajevo, in addition to Istanbul (SAW) flights, the airline will operate three weekly flights to Antalya.

As airlines are completing and publishing schedule for summer timetable, there will be additional additions and announcements from Sarajevo, as of today, December 16, 2023. the list below is providing routes and frequencies changes when compared to the summer of 2023:

Air Arabia is resuming daily flights from Sharjah to Sarajevo, starting June 10, 2024. The airline will operate a total of 186 flights both ways, offering 31.248 seats. Flights will operate with Airbus 320 aircraft.

Eurowings will increase Sarajevo flights on both destinations served from the city. Cologne-Sarajevo flights will be operated three times per week for the duration of the whole summer timetable, except for the month of April when flights will be offered five times per week. The Stuttgart-Sarajevo route will be flown twice per week, increasing to three weekly flights from July 22 to September 06. Between both routes Eurowings has scheduled a total of 334 flights in both directions, offering 48.096 seats. 

Flynas is increasing flights from Jeddah to Sarajevo from 3 weekly to five weekly in June, to daily operations during July and August, back to five weekly in September. Flynas will operate a total of 292 flights both ways, offering 50.808 seats. Flights will operate with Airbus 320neo aircraft.

Flynas is increasing flights from Riyadh to Sarajevo from 3 weekly to five weekly in June, to daily operations  during July and August, back to three weekly in September. Flynas will operate a total of 238 flights both ways, offering 41.412 seats. Flights will operate with Airbus 320neo aircraft.

Jazeera Airways has published its schedule for upcoming summer season, with significant increase of Kuwait City – Sarajevo flights. The airline will operate Sarajevo flights starting April 11^th with two weekly flights, upgrading its service to 10 weekly flights from June 13^th. Jazeera Airways will operate double daily flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Ten weekly flights will be operated until September 28^th. The airline plans to operate a total of 336 flights (both ways) offering 54.432 seats.

Kuwait Airways is increasing flights from Kuwait City to Sarajevo from last year’s two weekly flights to five weekly. The airline will operate flights the whole summer timetable from April to October, offering 300 flights both ways with 39.000 seats on offer. Flights will operate with Airbus 320 and Airbus 320neo aircraft.

Pegasus Airlines is introducing Antalya-Sarajevo flights from June 03, 2024. with three weekly flights, operating 126 flights both ways, offering 23.436 seats. Flights will operate with Airbus 320 and Airbus 320neo aircraft.

Ryanair will offer 26 weekly flights on six routes to and from Sarajevo, offering 4.914 seats a week. During the summer timetable 2024, Ryanair has scheduled a total of 688 flight, offering 130.032 seats. All Ryanair flights will operate with Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Swiss Air Lines is increasing flights from Zurich to Sarajevo from last year’s five weekly to daily operations. The airline has scheduled a total of 428 flights, offering 53.500 seats. Flights will operate with Airbus 220-100 aircraft.

SunExpress Airlines is introducing Antalya-Sarajevo flights from March 03, 2024. with two weekly flights until October 24, 2024. The airline will operate a total of 118 flights both ways, offering 22.302 seats. Flights will operate with Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

SunExpress Airlines is introducing Izmir-Sarajevo flights from April 21, 2024. with two weekly flights until October 24, 2024. The airline will operate a total of 108 flights both ways, offering 20.412 seats. Flights will operate with Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Qatar Airways is extending its summer seasonal service from Doha to Sarajevo when compared to last year (flights will operate from June 01 to October 01). The airline will operate five weekly flights beginning June 01, 2024. increasing flights to daily operations in July and August. The airline has scheduled a total of 97 flights both ways, offering 25.608 seats.

On November 28, 2023. Sarajevo Canton Government has issued a second public call for subsidize airlines in order to establish new air routes from Sarajevo for purpose of development of tourism. During the first call the agreement was signed with Ryanair (covering five routes), SunExpress (covering two routes) and Wizz Air (covering three routes).  Sarajevo Canton Government and Sarajevo Tourist Association (visitsarajevo) will subsidize airlines for a period of three years covering a list of 31 short haul strategic routes:

1.      Sarajevo-Berlin

2.      Sarajevo-Memmingen (Ryanair)

3.      Sarajevo-Malmo

4.      Sarajevo-Gothenburg (Ryanair)

5.      Sarajevo-Copenhagen

6.      Sarajevo-Paris (any airport)

7.      Sarajevo-Basel

8.      Sarajevo-Amsterdam

9.      Sarajevo-Eindhoven

10.  Sarajevo-London (any airport) (Ryanair) London-STN, (Wizz Air) London-LTN

11.  Sarajevo-Brussels (any airport) Ryanair

12.  Sarajevo-Rome (any airport) Wizz Air

13.  Sarajevo-Milan (any airport) Ryanair

14.  Sarajevo-Budapest

15.  Sarajevo-Prague

16.  Sarajevo-Barcelona

17.  Sarajevo-Girona

18.  Sarajevo-Madrid

19.  Sarajevo-Geneva

20.  Sarajevo-Bari

21.  Sarajevo-Stockholm (any airport)

22.  Sarajevo-Oslo (any airport)

23.  Sarajevo-Duesseldorf

24.  Sarajevo-Athens

25.  Sarajevo-Tirana

26.  Sarajevo-Skopje

27.  Sarajevo-Izmir SunExpress

28.  Sarajevo-Antalya SunExpress

29.  Sarajevo-Podgorica

30.  Sarajevo-Abu Dhabi Wizz Air

31.  Sarajevo-Warsaw

Routes from  any airport in following countries: Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Lebanon, Japan India, Israel, Indonesia, Malaysia, United States and Jordan.

Source: Zahid Krkić

✈ Lumiwings to open Tuzla base

With today’s signing of the agreement, Tuzla airport and the Greek airline Lumiwings  officially begin their cooperation. The ceremony of signing the agreement and establishing  cooperation was also attended by the delegation of the Government of Tuzla Canton led by  Prime Minister Irfan Halilagić. 

The Government of Tuzla Canton provided 2.5 million Bosnian Marks as a  support for this project, which will see Lumiwings basing one Boeing 737-700 aircraft at Tuzla Airport. Tuzla airport issued a public call for airlines that are interested  and want to establish or renew the flights from Tuzla. In accordance with  the criteria of the public call, the offer of the Lumiwings was declared the most  favorable. With opening of new Lumiwings base, the Tuzla airport, the citizens of the Tuzla Canton, Bosnian Diaspora, as well as all those who used the services of the Tuzla airport in the previous  period, will have flights available again – flights that were cancelled after the Wizz Air abruptly withdrew two aircraft and closed its Tuzla base.

On the occasion of today’s event, the Director of Tuzla International Airport Dževad  Halilčević said: 

“By signing this agreement, we are establishing cooperation with Lumiwings airline, which will base one aircraft at Tuzla International Airport and establish a  significant number of flights that our clients are already used to. Therefore, as of December  18th, 2023, we are re-establishing flights to Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and  Germany, but also for the first time we are commencing flights to Turkey, which has long  been the wish of the citizens of the Tuzla Canton and the wider region”, said the Director Halilčević. 

Manager of the Lumiwings Dimitrios Kremiotis pointed out: 

“It is my pleasure to attend today’s ceremonial event at Tuzla airport and I am so happy that  we have the opportunity to expand the scope of our business through the establishment of a  base at Tuzla airport. In cooperation with our new partner, Tuzla Airport, we announce on  this occasion that the Lumiwings airline will start operations from December 18th, 2023. To  begin with, the establishment of flights to 5 destinations in Europe is planned, as well as the  imminent start of flights to Turkey. Our expectations are that the established flights will be  well received by passengers and that the offered flights will especially arouse the renewed  interest of the Diaspora, as the success of this joint project ultimately largely depends on this.  In order to allow passengers to buy flight tickets for the upcoming winter holidays at the most  favourable prices, starting today we offer flight tickets at prices starting from 75 EUR for  flights from December 18th, 2023. We inform passengers that airline tickets at these  favourable prices will sell quickly, so we invite interested passengers to visit our website  www.lumiwings.com as soon as possible to use this opportunity.” 

Prime Minister of Tuzla Canton Irfan Halilagić emphasized: 

“Subsidizing flights in order  to maintain affordable ticket prices for citizens is a practice that is present everywhere in the  world, and we are now introducing this practice at Tuzla airport as well.” This year, we  provided 2.5 million Bosnian Marks and with the Tuzla airport we defined a procedure for withdrawing 

these funds from Tuzla Canton budget based on number of tickets sold, In this way, we share business risks with the airline in a certain way,” said Prime  Minister Halilagić. Then, he added that the Government of Tuzla Canton, considering in the  coming period the process of preparing the budget for the next year, will certainly keep this  measure, but also think about possibly increasing the planned funds so that interest of other airlines for opening some new destinations is awaken. Tuzla Airport and its development are  a strategic element and project of the Tuzla Canton and are an indispensable segment of all  strategic documents and development plans in the Tuzla Canton, so as such we must pay  adequate attention to it,” Prime Minister Halilagić concluded.

Source: Tuzla Airport

✈ Ryanair announces arrival at Sarajevo Airport with five routes !

Ryanair, Europe’s biggest and fastest-growing airline, today (Tues 28th November) announced that it will begin operations at Sarajevo, delivering over 20 weekly flights across 5 exciting new routes, creating over 150 local jobs from Summer ‘24.

Sarajevo will become the second Bosnian airport within Ryanair’s network from April ‘24, further increasing Ryanair’s presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Ryanair’s 5 exciting new routes will offer direct connections from Sarajevo to Brussels, Gothenburg, London, Memmingen and Milan. These new Summer ‘24 routes will drive valuable inbound tourism and business opportunities to Sarajevo from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the UK – whilst also providing connectivity for Bosnian citizens and visitors at Europe’s lowest fares.

Ryanair’s brand-new Sarajevo Summer ‘24 schedule will deliver:

• 5 new routes – Brussels, Gothenburg, London, Memmingen & Milan
• Over 20 flights per week to/from Sarajevo
• 200,000 passengers within the first 12 months
• Over 150 new local jobs

Ryanair is the only major European airline to significantly grow traffic post-Covid, particularly in the Balkans, where other airlines have stopped growing, are cutting routes and reducing traffic. Next year, Ryanair will grow to 11M annual passengers in the region (a +260% increase in traffic vs. pre-Covid). This traffic growth complements Ryanair’s plans to grow to 300M annual passengers by 2034, as it takes delivery of a further 400 aircraft (incl. 300 Boeing MAX-10 aircraft). Ryanair is the only airline that can deliver rapid growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina – a stark contrast to competitor airlines who continue to cancel routes and reduce capacity.

To celebrate Ryanair’s arrival to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital, the airline has launched a 3-day seat sale on its 5 new routes to/from Sarajevo from €29.99 one way, for travel from April ‘24 until October ‘24, which must be booked by 30th November, only on Ryanair’s app/website.

Speaking from Sarajevo, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jason McGuinness said:

“As Europe’s biggest and fastest-growing airline, Ryanair is delighted to announce that we are bringing Europe’s lowest fares to Sarajevo with the launch of over 20 weekly flights and 5 new routes from Summer ‘24. Ryanair’s exciting new routes to/from Sarajevo will connect Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital to key markets, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK – leading to substantial traffic and tourism growth thanks to Ryanair’s unbeatable low air fares.

We have worked closely with our partners at Sarajevo Airport, the Government of the Canton Sarajevo, the Ministry of Economy of the Canton Sarajevo, the Tourism Association of the Canton Sarajevo, and the Government of FBIH to launch these 5 new routes, and we hope to strengthen these relationships over time as we continue to work together to deliver further inbound tourism, connectivity, and low fares to Bosnia and Herzegovina and its citizens/visitors.

For too long Sarajevo Airport traffic has been held back by high fare incumbent airlines such as Turkish, Austrian, and Wizz. This era of high fares ends with the arrival of Ryanair’s low fares. Ryanair plans to grow its fleet to 800 aircraft and its traffic to 300M passengers over the next decade and we believe that Bosnia and Herzegovina will be a key growth market for Ryanair’s low fares.”

Sarajevo Airport’s Managing Director, Alan Bajić said:

“The work, dedication and continuous effort that we invest in improving the quality of services that Sarajevo International Airport provides to its users have resulted in positive results and events like this. Our vision and mission, to be the leading airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina that is comparable with the best regional and European airports, is becoming more of a reality each day.

Personally, I believe that actions speak louder than words and believe in promoting the Airport through concrete results and successful projects. This is precisely the common thread that connects the members of the Sarajevo International Airport Management Board and its employees, in their efforts and dedicated work to achieve our shared vision.

Today, we want to present an example of these results to the public. Ryanair is now introducing direct flights from Sarajevo to 5 extremely attractive European destinations. Ryanair is connecting Sarajevo to London, Brussels, Milan, Gothenburg & Memmingen and in the process, providing Bosnia & Herzegovina with even greater tourism opportunities.

The successful implementation of this project is the result of the support of the Government of the Canton Sarajevo with the Ministry of Economy and Tourist Board of the Canton Sarajevo, who launched a Public Call which focused on stimulating the launch of strategic routes, with the aim of increasing the number of tourists in the Canton Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the support of the Government of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ministry of Transport and Communications of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Source: Ryanair