Commercial airports in the former Yugoslavia processed a combined total of over 6.7 million passengers during the first four months of the year, with Belgrade and Zagreb positioning themselves within the top seventy and top 100 busiest in Europe respectively. During April, Dubrovnik Airport handled more passengers than its traditionally busier counterpart in Split. Furthermore, both Zadar and Rijeka handled fewer passengers this April then they did the same month last year, when the remnants of the coronavirus pandemic were still being felt. During the month, Mostar Airport finally saw more meaningful passenger numbers by handling close to 900 travellers or 96% of its customers so far this year.
Passenger performance by airport, January – April 2023
During the January – April period, Belgrade Airport ranked 69th busiest on the continent, just behind Cologne, Palermo and Malta, but ahead of Reykjavik, Larnaca and Thessaloniki. Zagreb also made it into the top 100, positioning 98th. It was behind the likes of Vilnius, Hanover and London City, but ahead of Tbilisi, Tallinn and Pristina. Pristina itself just missed out on the top 100 and was 101st on the list, behind Santiago de Compostela but ahead of Nuremberg, Verona and Florence. The Kosovo market saw the third-fastest growth rate in Europe during the four-month period when compared to the pre-pandemic 2019.
Passenger performance by airport, April 2023
During the first four months, the Slovenian market saw the biggest decline in passenger figures in percentage terms in Europe (excluding Ukraine) when compared to the pre-pandemic era with numbers down 40.8%. On the other hand, Albania recorded the fastest growth, amounting to 98%, according to Airports Council International Europe, and was ahead of Armenia with a 50% increase. The Kosovo market registered 41.4% growth, Serbian 25.6%, Montenegrin 14.6%, Croatian 7.7%, while the Macedonian market saw its passenger figures grow 8.5% on the same period in 2019. Notably, Russia has handled more passengers so far in 2023 than four years ago with 1.1% growth. Overall, London Heathrow Airport was the busiest in Europe between January and April, handling 23.3 million passengers, ahead of Istanbul’s main gateway, which was second with 22.3 million travellers. They were followed by Paris Charles de Gaulle, Madrid, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Barcelona, London Gatwick, Istanbul Sabiha Gocken and Rome Fiumicino.
European rank for EX-YU capitals and select regional airports, January – April 2023
