The Slovenian government’s outlined a new airline subsidies programme, aimed at improving passenger air connectivity to the country. The Ministry of Infrastructure has said that ten routes are being prioritised and EUR16.8 million euros (USD18.4 million) provided to maintain them over the next three years.
The ministry published on its website on April 4 an open call for airlines interested in operating the routes to Slovenia’s three international airports - Ljubljana, Maribor, and Portoroz - pledging EUR5.6 million (USD6.13 million) per year for the next three years. The subsidies cover 50% of the airport fees at the three airports. Applications for the aid must be submitted, in the Slovene language, within 30 days.
Although the government announced plans to subsidise the routes earlier this year, it delayed the publication of the programme until the European Commission approved it.
The ten destination airports to be prioritised are Amsterdam Schiphol, Athens, Berlin Brandenburg, Brussels Charleroi, Copenhagen Kastrup, Helsinki Vantaa, Madrid Barajas, Prague Václav Havel, Skopje, and Vienna. If any funds remain after the call, they will be made available to airlines flying to Barcelona El Prat, Lisbon, Oslo Gardermoen, Paris Orly, Pristina, Rome Fiumicino, and Stockholm Arlanda.
If there is still money left over after the latter second round, it will go to supporting routes across the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA), which includes the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo.
The subsidies have been agreed as plans to create a new Slovene flag carrier following the collapse of Adria Airways (Ljubljana) in September 2019 have repeatedly been shelved as financially unsustainable. A subsidy scheme on a smaller scale was in place in 2020 and 2021.
“The purpose of the call for tenders is to improve Slovenia’s air connectivity, with the aim of promoting the establishment of new direct scheduled air routes from and to Slovenia. The consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic severely reduced the level of air passenger traffic in Slovenia, together with the negative effects of the pre-pandemic bankruptcy of the carrier Adria Airways. The recovery of air traffic in Slovenia has been very slow, and the aim of the call for tenders is to increase the mobility of people in Slovenia,” the tender document said.
“The call for tenders also pursues two key development priorities of the Slovenian economy, namely the internationalisation and strengthening of foreign direct investment by determination of priority markets. The economies of the Western Balkans are the most relevant for Slovenian outward investment, and the German and Austrian markets are the most important for Slovenia from the point of view of trade in goods. Other priority markets for exports and foreign direct investment include France, Italy and the United States of America, which we are covering through the establishment of transport hubs,” it added.
