Skopje, 24 January 2024 (MIA) - The Skopje International Airport saw close to 2.9 million passengers in 2023, which makes it the fifth busiest airport in the region. Of all the commercial aiports in former Yugoslavia, Belgrade Airport served a record number of 7.95 million passengers, Zagreb ranks second with 3.72 million passengers, followed by Pristina Airport with 3.42 million passengers, while Split ranks fourth with 3.59 million passengers, according to the Ex-Yu Aviation News. 

Commercial airports in the former Yugoslavia handled over 32.5 million passengers in 2023, adding some five million additional travellers on the year before. Just over half of all airports managed to register their busiest year on record, while a number of them are still lagging behind their pre-Covid passenger levels. 

In 2023, Skopje overtook the traditionally busier Dubrovnik for the first time, while Podgorica surpassed Sarajevo, and Ljubljana Airport took the lead over Zadar. 

Compared to the pre-pandemic 2019, Belgrade Airport added the most passengers welcoming an extra 1.8 million travellers, Pristina welcomed an additional one million customers, whereas Skopje Airport saw an extra half a million passengers on 2019. 

Wizz Air was the largest carrier operating to and from the markets of the former Yugoslavia based on available capacity (5.9 million), adding an extra 1.8 million seats compared to 2019. Wizz Air is followed by Air Serbia with 5.2 million, and Ryanair ranks third with 3.66 million. 

Photo: MIA/Ex-Yu Aviation