Sarajevo International Airport is recording large business losses because the aviation industry is one of the industries most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Only in the period from March 1 to August 31, there was a decrease in air operations by 70 percent, and passengers by as much as 90 percent, compared to the same period last year.
Interstate restrictions are the cause of most flight cancellations. Poor business is recorded by all airports in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the first eight months, Sarajevo Airport recorded a deficit of almost eight million BAM. Estimates of possible loss for the whole year amount to more than 16 and a half million BAM. Air traffic to Sarajevo is currently maintained by six companies, while last year there were 16. Due to everything, there is a constant communication between the Management Board of the Company-owner-Federal Government.
“A meeting was held with Prime Minister Novalic regarding the provision of guarantees for the credit arrangement with the Development Bank and the approval for collateral with commercial banks. It was agreed to take action to freeze the Aviation Development Fee in the amount of 10 euros per passenger in order to ensure the conditions for faster return and arrival of new airlines,” Sanja Bagaric, a spokeswoman for Sarajevo International Airport stated on Monday.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications points out that preserving the stability of Sarajevo Airport is a strategic goal in order to preserve jobs and increase the volume of air traffic, BHRT reports.
“Part of these funds will be directed to the revitalization of air traffic, ie to airports in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We still can’t talk about the amount. So, by the end of the week, we will know the exact amounts. The decree will be presented at one of the next sessions of the Government, and the plan is for these funds to be placed by the end of this year,” Goran Mirascic, Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH stated.
That the liquidity of Sarajevo Airport is additionally endangered by the additional capital project, reminds the member of the Federal Parliament Irfan Čengic. He states that the Airport has so far allocated about 30 million BAM of its profit to the budget of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
