List of the busiest airports in the former Yugoslav countries

This is a list of the busiest airports in the former Yugoslav countries by passengers per year. This transport-related list is intended to be regularly updated as new statistics becomes available from the official authorities.

The Former Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed in 1918 by the unification of the Kingdom of Serbia with Kingdom of Montenegro and the slavic inhabited territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was renamed into Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929. In 1945 after the Second World War, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) was proclaimed. It was formally dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. SFRY was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Serbia, in addition, included two autonomous provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo and Metohia.

The first airports were created in the first half of the twentieth century, but the airlines industry and infrastructure will definitely be most expanded between the 1950s and 1980s. The first domestic airliner was Autoput, the predecessor of JAT (Jugoslovenski Aerotransport) created in 1927, and it was the national carrier from its creation until nawadays. More companies were created during the 1960s, namely Ljubljana based Adria Airways (initially named Adria Aviopromet, later Inex-Adria Airways), and another Belgrade based airliner Aviogenex, in 1968. During the late 1980s and 1990s a big number of private companies were established, but the period of the 1990s, unlike many of the other countries from the region, was not known for the expansion of the airline industry. During this period, the Yugoslav Wars and the economical sanctions imposed to the FR Yugoslavia significantly contributed to the crisis in the airline sector.

Disolution of Yugoslavia

With the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, each one of the countries created its own national carrier. After the year 2000, the growth the airline industry slightly recovered following the recovery of the tourism sector in the Yugoslav region. The national carriers of each one of the former Yugoslav countries currently are:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina: B&H Airlines
• Croatia: Croatia Airlines
• R. Macedonia: MAT Airways
• Montenegro: Montenegro Airlines
• Serbia: Jat Airways
• Slovenia: Adria Airways

Besides these, each country has a number of private owned companies operating, as well as a number of world and European based airlines that have regular flights to a number of airports in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

Busiest Airports

Passenger Statistics

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatia

Macedonia

Montenegro

Serbia (with Kosovo)

Future international airports

• The former Kraljevo-Lađevci Airport in Kraljevo is currently being transformed into an airport for civilian use and is expected to be open in either September or October 2011. The price tag of the project amounts to 22.2 million Euros, not including the control tower equipment which will be provided by the Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services Agency. Construction of the airport's terminal building will began in April 2011 and will be partly financed by the government of Serbia and partly by Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. When completed, the airport will have the status of an international airport and be open for public and cargo flights.

• Užice-Ponikve Airport has been proposed to go under reconstruction. After the reconstruction, it is expected to have the status of an international airport and receive charter flights throughout the year. However, for construction to take place, mines which are scattered throughout the airport complex must first be removed. At a recent donors conference in Belgrade a total of 4 million Euros was donated for the removal of the mines. A total of 15 countries along with Slovenia and Serbia will take part in the project. Construction of the new terminal and supporting infrastructure should begin in the second half of 2012 if finances are secured.

Slovenia

Notes

See also

• World's busiest airports by passenger traffic
• World's busiest airports by traffic movements
• World's busiest airports by cargo traffic
• World's busiest airports by international passenger traffic
• Busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic
• Busiest airports in the United States by total passenger boardings
• Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic
• List of largest airports in the Baltic states
• List of the largest airports in the Nordic countries
• World's busiest passenger air routes

References

Governmental Authorities (or equivalent)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation
• Croatian Civil Aviation Agency
• Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo
• Directorate for Civil Aviation of Macedonia
• Montenegro Civil Aviation Agency
• Civil Aviation Directorate of the Repiblic of Serbia
• Republic of Sloevnia Ministry of Transport

Airport Companies (or equivalent)

• Belgrade Airport Traffic Figures
• Ljubljana Airport Traffic Figures
• Macedonian Airports
• Montenegro Airports
• Niš Airport Statistics
• Dubrovnik Airport Statistics

Several more links are to be added in the near time when updating for 2010 statistics