By Misko Taleski for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 26/03/13
The International Airport Council awarded Skopje's Aleksandar the Great Airport first prize, based on passenger's evaluations of the airport's services. [TAV Makedonija]
Out of 275 European airports, Skopje's Alexander the Great Airport won the prize for the 2012 best in Europe, in the category of two million passenger services per year, awarded by the International Airport Council.
Officials are hopeful that the award will bring additional investments to the airport.
"The prize indicates the decision to invest in and turn Skopje airport into a regional hub, which would bring long-term economic gain for Macedonia and the region," Mile Janakieski, Macedonian transportation minister, told SETimes.
Turkey's TAV Company took over a 20-year management contract for Skopje and Ohrid airports in March 2010. TAV's total investment in the two airports was 120 million euros.
Skopje airport had nearly a million passengers last year -- almost a fifth more than in the previous three years combined.
Now, the airport can handle even four million passengers annually, and analysts said the efforts to establish inexpensive air routes will make Skopje a regional hub within the next several years.
"[The investment] has strengthened the ongoing efforts to make Alexander the Great a leading regional airport. As a consequence, Macedonian and regional citizens can fly directly to European destinations at far more competitive prices," Murat Ornekol, director of TAV Airports, told SETimes.
Questions in the International Airport Council passenger forms address the quality of experience with the police and customs service at the airport.
"Skopje's Аlexander the Great Airport received high marks for its quick and efficient passport and customs control process. We are striving to ensure passenger comfort in addition to maximum security, and I'm glad the airport personnel's professionalism is recognised," Gordana Jankuloska, minister of internal affairs, told SETimes.
"It is encouraging that an increasing number of foreign passengers use the airport, given the convenient flights and quality of service," Jankuloska added.
Wizz Air, the biggest low budget air carrier in Central and Eastern Europe, established its presence in Skopje last year with six new routes to Western Europe that will transport 300,000 additional passengers in the first year, and create 300 new jobs in Macedonia.
Other airports in the region are also focusing on expansion through investments.
Serbian civil aviation officials expect new investments this year to renovate Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, the main hub in the former Yugoslavia and beyond. Widening and renovating the airport building, purchasing passenger bridges and building a Serbian House to promote domestic brands are among the expected improvements.
"We'll invest 40 million euros in the next three years in the airport infrastructure, and become the most successful airport in the Balkans, expecting to serve the number of passengers Zagreb and Ljubljana serve together," Velimir Radosavljevic, general director of the airport, said.
BiH authorities rebuilt the Sarajevo airport building in 2001 to include the latest technology and equipment, positioning the BiH capital to seek an air regime of up to a million passengers a year.
Sarajevo airport served 600,000 passengers last year, 3 percent less than in 2011. Officials said smaller airports, like the one in Mostar -- which served 80,000 passengers in 2012 -- are taking on more air travel, and will likely be expanded and renovated.
"For now we are not planning to widen the terminal building given the existing is constructed to handle a million passengers a year, which is enough [given the current demand]," Alma Krnic, spokesperson for the Sarajevo airport, told SETimes.
The situation is similar in Tivat, Montenegro, which increased the number of passengers last year by 12 percent to 726,000 passengers, bypassing the Golubovci Airport in Podgorica.
Source: SETimes.com
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