Exactly 1,041,583 passengers were handled at the two airports in Macedonia in the first months of 2018. A annual increase of 21% was registered compared to the first half of last year, TAV Macedonia - the company operating the airports in Skopje and Ohrid - said in a press release.
The number of flights at the two Macedonian airports from January until June marked an annual rise of 16%, it added.
"While airports across Europe have an average passenger traffic increase of 6,1% in 2018, TAV continues to register high double digit increase in passenger’s traffic at the Macedonian airports. This positive trend in air traffic growth confirms that the Macedonian aviation market has big potentials. We will continue to put our best efforts to develop the airports in Skopje and Ohrid by attracting new airlines and expanding the destinations’ network, in cooperation with all competent state authorities," said Alper Ersoy, TAV Macedonia General Manager.
From Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, the most visited destinations are Istanbul followed by Zurich, Basel, Vienna, Malmo and Bratislava, according to data on passenger traffic in the first six months.
Regarding airline’s share in passenger traffic, Wizz Air transported the highest number of passengers with 63,3% market share, followed by Turkish Airlines (8,1%), Austrian Airlines (5,1%), Germania Flug (4,6%), Edelweiss (3,8%), Croatia Airlines (3,1%), Pegasus Airlines (3%).
TAV Macedonia officials expect air traffic growth to continue with similar pace until the end of the year, taking into consideration the new destinations that were promoted at the Skopje and Ohrid airports in the beginning of the 2018 summer season
On June 1, LOT Polish Airlines started operating a flight from Skopje and Warsaw and vice versa.
The Ohrid Airport saw the promotion of four new seasonal destinations, Istanbul, Eindhoven, Tallinn, and Warsaw, while TAV Macedonia officials announce a new regular year-round route from Ohrid to Vienna that will be introduced in November 2018.
Skopje Alexander the Great Airport is connected with 38 destinations, operated by 13 airlines. The Ohrid-based St. Paul the Apostle Airport has 3 regular routes all year round and 8 seasonal destinations, all operated by 11 airlines.
