KECMAN: PASSENGER NUMBERS WILL SURPASS 2023 RECORD

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 28 /SRNA/ - Director of Banja Luka Airport Valentina Kecman told SRNA that it is now certain this year will close with a record number of passengers, surpassing 2023 when 460,000 were registered.

"As of November 24, we already have 443,441 passengers, and it's clear that this will be a record year since Ryanair and Wizz Air began operating from Banja Luka. Last year we ended with 391,000 passengers, and we exceeded that figure already in early October," Kecman emphasized.

She noted that one route to Belgrade is currently operated by Air Serbia, while Ryanair maintains six routes - the sixth, to Brussels, operating only during the summer season, and the remaining five throughout the year.

"When it comes to Wizz Air, they operate two routes: Basel and Dortmund. During the summer season, the number of passengers on those flights increased significantly," Kecman said.

She stressed that Ryanair reduces operations during the winter months, but that summer 2024 saw a major increase compared to the previous year - clear evidence of significantly higher passenger traffic due to greater capacity on all flights.

Kecman added that although no new routes were introduced this summer, negotiations are underway for new summer routes for next year, with more information expected by the end of January.

"We want new routes, but it's not always up to us. Airlines make decisions based on their risk assessments - expected passenger loads and profitability," she said.

She explained that airline choices also depend on airport fees and charges at destination airports.

"When Vienna introduced higher fees, Wizz Air closed its base, and Ryanair reduced capacity. This affected us as well. What was planned for the winter season has been drastically reduced due to increased fees in Germany and Austria, because airlines determined those routes would not be profitable," Kecman stated.

She noted that the period between December 15 and January 15 is expected to be extremely busy, with all routes doubling or tripling in frequency.

Kecman also highlighted that the airport's parking system - previously a frequent source of complaints - has now been fully improved.

"Instead of manual payment used in previous years, passengers can now pay via parking meters, at the payment booth, or through a mobile app," she explained.

Parking prices have also been significantly reduced and are now the lowest in the region - dropping from the previous BAM 5 per hour to BAM 3. Instead of BAM 15 for the first day and BAM 10 for each additional day, the new price is BAM 5 per day across the board.

"We drastically lowered the prices to make parking more accessible and to allow passengers to leave their cars for several days without needing someone to drop them off or pick them up. Congestion has eased because the system now automatically recognizes license plates - there's no more scanning of QR codes or anything else that caused delays," she said.

Kecman also noted that Banja Luka Airport has made new investments this year, including taking over counter-diversion /security/ control.

"We had to train and hire new staff, and we have now successfully carried out this work for six months - duties previously handled by the BiH Border Police," Kecman concluded.