The government of Bosnia's Republika Srpska hopes that the renovated Banja Luka International Airport may be home to a sister company to Air Serbia (JU, Belgrade), with one aircraft based there. Located in the north west of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Banja Luka airport has commenced a renewal of its infrastructure due for completion in October 2017, reports Radio Televizija Republika Srpska.
As part of the BAM7 million (USD3.8 million) renovations, the airport terminal building will be expanded to 400 square metres and modern lighting systems will be installed along the 2500 metre 17/35 runway. A 1300 square metre cargo facility will also be constructed.
The Minister of Transport and Communications, Nedjo Trninić, is hopeful that the revamped airport could be home to an Air Serbia subsidiary.
"Our ambition is to open an Air Serbia sister company, with one plane based in Banja Luka Airport," Trninić said.
Trninić also expects that, following renovations, Banja Luka will be open to international operations, probably either Zurich or a Scandinavian destination, although no route has as yet been decided.
Currently, Air Serbia runs the airport's sole scheduled service, a 3x weekly flight to the Serbian capital Belgrade.
