With its limited domestic market, Ljubljana attracted few airlines, giving Slovenia's national carrier, Adria Airways, a virtual monopoly. Of the 27 destinations served by Adria Airways, eleven have effectively disappeared. Only six routes were in competition with the national carrier, including Brussels, London and Paris.
La disappearance of Adria represents an opportunity for large hauliers. This winter Air France serves Slovenia 13 times a week instead of six - a happy coincidence, given that the airline announced the strengthening of its presence even before Adria went bankrupt...
LOT Polish Airlines has also just added an eighth weekly frequency to Warsaw, while Air Serbia is introducing aircraft with more seats on the Ljubljana-Belgrade route.
But it is nevertheless the Lufthansa Group which will add the largest air capacity to the Slovenian capital. Brussels Airlines has just announced the launch of six weekly flights from Brussels on 7 November - every weekday except Saturday. This Wednesday, Lufthansa has announced that it will serve the capital twice a day from Frankfurt from October 27. The airline will add another daily flight to Munich on 1 November. October 16th, Swiss will launch five weekly flights to Zurich, increasing to daily frequency from 27 October.
For its part, Austrian has not yet announced the resumption of the Ljubljana-Vienna route. The Austrian carrier alternatively offers domestic flights to Klagenfurt, an hour and a half's drive from the Slovenian capital. Vienna-Klagenfurt is connected by the Austrian carrier up to three times a day.
However, the Ljubljana airport authorities believe that it will probably be necessary to 18 months for the Slovenian capital to regain the same level of air frequencies as in the Adria Airways era. The routes operated by Air France and the Lufthansa group are at least reconnecting the capital with the rest of the planet...
