Banja Luka Airport has seen its passenger numbers decline for a second consecutive year.
The airport welcomed 21.316 passengers during 2016, a decrease of 6.5% on the year before. A total of 1.480 aircraft movements were recorded. Banja Luka Airport has struggled to attract customers over the past few years and is currently served only by Air Serbia, which maintains three weekly flights from Belgrade.
Earlier this month, the Minister for Transport in the government of the entity of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nedjo Trninić, said that changes need to be made to Air Serbia's operations between Belgrade and Banja Luka.
“We had some informal discussions with Air Serbia's CEO concerning the Banja Luka – Belgrade service and clearly stated that the current situation is unsustainable and that something needs to change. He took note of this and made some suggestions but it is too early to go out in public with these plans”, Mr Trninić said.
Banja Luka Airport will embark on a multi million euro expansion this year with a terminal overhaul and the construction of a cargo centre planned. Recently, Brussels Airlines expressed interest in launching services from Brussels to Banja Luka via Sarajevo.
Exyuaviation.com
