Kon Tiki Sky to connect Skopje with 14 locations

Serbian airline Kon Tiki Sky, part of Travel company Kon Tiki Travel has announced beginning May 1st they will be flying out of Alexander the Great airport to 14 locations.

The first destination is Antwerp, Belgium twice weekly, while beginning June 18, Kon Tiki Sky will connect Skopje to Stuttgart, Hamburg, Berlin, Malmo and Istanbul. Three weekly flights will be scheduled to Ancona, Milan and Bologna, while four weekly flights are scheduled to Rome, Trieste, Bratislava and Dusseldorf. Basel, Switzerland will have 5 weekly flights.

The prices of the tickets will be around 50 EUR to the cities nearby and 70 to 90 EUR to the cities in northern Europe. These prices are one way.

New highway for airport Alexander the Great put into use

"TAV Macedonia" has completed its EUR 100 million investment in Macedonia by putting into use a new interchange for airport "Alexander the Great" on Saturday, thus enabling easier access to the airport.

"We are encircling a significant project that is of enormous benefit for our citizens, since the airport's overhaul has resulted in interest by many low-cost airlines, whereas turnover has increased", said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at the event.

Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski stressed the number of passengers at the Skopje-based airport vastly increased in 2011, whereas the trend has resumed this year.

"The number of passengers in the first quarter of 2012 has increased by 27 percent. I expect that subsidies for airlines will bring the number of passengers up to one million", said Janakieski.

The interchange investment was worth EUR 2,2 million, of which TAV provided EUR 1,5 million, whereas the remaining were allocated by the Government.

"TAV Macedonia" is the concessionaire of the Skopje and Ohrid airports for a period of 20 years

100,000 passengers at Mak Airports in beginning of 2012

The number of transported passengers in airline traffic at Macedonian airports in the first two months in 2012 has increased by 20 percent compared to the same period in 2011, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said in a press release.
In January, the number of transported passengers at the Skopje and Ohrid airports amounted to 63,877 i.e. a 23.5 percent increase compared to 2011. In February, the number is 48,756, which is up by 21.2 percent compared to the same month last year.

"Following the completion of the project for modernization of Macedonia's airport system by way of concession, there has been a continual rise in the number of passengers and flights. A total of 834,273 were transported at both airports in the course of 2011, which is an increase by 15 percent compared to 2010. In addition, there has been a 9.8-percent rise in the cargo transport", reads the press release.

Both Mak Airports register increase in travellers

The number of passengers transported through Skopje airport "Alexander the Great" and Ohrid-based "St.Paul the Apostle" in October has increased by 18.9 percent compared to the same month in 2010.
A total of 74,703 passengers were transported this October compared to last year's 62,876, said the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Thursday.

The same trend was registered in September, with the number of passengers rising by 25.4 percent compared to last year, i.e. 82,641 to 65,878.

Ohrid's St. Paul the Apostle is Best in Class of Smaller Airports

Ohrid airport: Saint Paul the Apostle

According to the International Airport Council, Ohrid-based St. Paul the Apostle airport is the absolute winner in the group of small airports with up to five million passengers a year. In comparison with September 2011, goods transport growth reached 198.1 percent in a year.
The two Macedonian airports are managed by Turkish TAV. Istanbul-based Kemal Atatturk Airport, which is also managed by TAV, reported the highest growth in goods transport in its group of airports with more than 25 million passengers a year. Leading European airports (Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London) recorded losses in international goods transport (6, 5.7 and 3.7 percent).

Macedonia Supporting Low Cost Airlines

Macedonian Government has decided to grant EUR 1,4 million in subventions to low-cost airlines and to that effect a procedure for amending the law on air traffic is already opened, Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakievski said Monday.
The aim is to attract more airlines to use the airports in Skopje and Ohrid, which are expected to introduce new destinations and cut the ticket prices, Janakieski said at the press conference on what his ministry has done for the 100 days since the making up of the new Government.
The ministry worked on realizing the program that won the trust of the electorate, namely resuming the reforms for better infrastructure, safe transport, inflow of new investments and higher living standard for the citizens of Macedonia, Janakieski said.
Listing the completed projects, he mentioned the reconstructed Skopje Airport 'Alexander the Great' - an EUR 100 million - investment of the Turkish 'TAV', construction of the highway 7,6 km-long section Tabanovce - Kumanovo - EUR 15,5 million, legalization of illegal buildings, procurement of new low-floor and double decker buses...

Skopje's new Airport Terminal Near Completion

The grand opening of Skopje's new world class passenger terminal, part of Alexander The Great Airport is slated for September 8, Macedonian Independence Day.
At a cost of €110 million the new terminal will be ten times bigger than the existing building and will allow for long-awaited improvements to passenger travel.
The terminal will feature six air bridges, 23 check-in desks and 15 passport control counters, stretching over more than 40,000 square metres. TAV says that they have completed more than 80 per cent of the construction of the building.
Work has also been done on the runway, which is being extended from 2.5 to 3.1 kilometres to ease the landing of larger aircraft. A new cargo terminal and road access to the airport and parking area are also being constructed.
“My vision for the airport is to make it the regional hub,” TAV Macedonia's director, Murat Ornekol, told News 24 TV recently. The management hopes to increase the annual number of passengers from slightly over half a million today to 3.5 million a year.
“In the past, many passengers headed to airports in neighbouring countries. Our goal is to attract those passengers back. And believe me the new terminal building has the capacity to accommodate this number,” Ornekol said.
Since TAV's entry, the airport has seen solid growth.  In the first half of 2011, the number of passengers increased by nearly 10 per cent. It has also welcomed new budget airlines like WizzAir, Air Berlin, XL Airways and soon the Turkish low budget carrier, Pegasus Airlines.

Turkish Airlines and other companies who already operate in Skopje are also expected to increase their number of flights.
TAV started construction work at the airport in mid-2010. The government chose the company to reconstruct and manage Macedonia's airports in 2008.
 Last year TAV finished reconstruction of the country’s second civil airport in the tourist town of Ohrid. TAV recently boasted that in only one year they increased the number of passengers there by a staggering 60 per cent.