Ljubljana, 23 September (STA) - The fifth call published by the Slovenian government to boost the country's air connectivity has attracted no bidders. Since the first call to claim subsidies was released in April 2023, four new routes have been established.
Carriers can apply to get subsidies for new passenger air links covering 50% of airport fees at Slovenia's three international airports, Ljubljana, Maribor and Portorož.
The list of routes eligible for subsidies is set in a scheme aimed at improving the country's air connectivity, drawn up by the Ministry of Infrastructure in cooperation with the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport.
The latest call was published in August. The previous calls have produced new air links connecting Ljubljana to Luxembourg, Riga, Madrid and Copenhagen.
The Infrastructure Ministry is working on a sixth call. The date is yet to be announced, but the ministry said the deadline for bids would expire before the start of the new winter season, i.e. by the end of October.
The 2023-25 air-connectivity subsidy scheme gave priority to ten destinations: Brussels, Skopje, Prague and Berlin as final destinations and Vienna, Copenhagen, Athens, Madrid, Amsterdam and Helsinki as connecting destinations.
The secondary list made subsidies available to carriers flying to Rome, Stockholm, Oslo, Barcelona, Lisbon, Prishtina and Paris.
The third priority extended subsidies to routes across the European Common Aviation Area, which includes the EU, Norway, Iceland, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo.
Four airlines have so far won subsidies; Luxair started flying between Luxembourg and Ljubljana in September 2023. Latvia's airBaltic and Norway's Norwegian have been flying to Riga and Copenhagen, respectively, since late April, and the Spanish flag carrier Iberia launched flights between Madrid and Ljubljana in late July.
