Mostar Airport has had the status of an international airport since 1984. The last three years have marked the transition to a new development period marked by investments by the European Community in the modernization of its facilities, as well as capital investments by the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the development of infrastructure.
What is very important for the airport, but also for the City of Mostar, is the visible increase in the interest of low-cost companies, which find the region of Herzegovina and Mostar Airport interesting. One of these is the airline Sky Alps, which last week signed a cooperation agreement with Mostar airport for as many as 4 new destinations.
“In addition to these lines we have that we have already announced, namely Zagreb last year and we continued the year-round line, with Belgrade you also testified that we have completed that agreement these days, that is, it has been completed, we are waiting for the signing of the contract. These are the new four destinations, namely Bari, Verona, Rome and Munich”, says the Mayor of the City of Mostar, Mario Kordić.
All available routes will have flights twice a week. The summer flight schedule has already been agreed, while the winter schedule will depend on the interest of passengers. An increase in the number of passengers is certainly expected this year.
“This year we doubled, so we had about 20 thousand passengers, that is, last year, the same this year. So we expect to at least double the payment to over 40,000 if there are no global turbulences such as these are now some kind of war zones, but we hope that this will bypass us”, says the director of the Mostar Airport, Marko Đuzel.
“We expect over 50,000 travelers to the Herzegovina region already this year, most of them tourist travelers. As we somehow proclaim in the development strategy of the City of Mostar, tourism is very high,” Kordić points out.
In addition to new flights, contracts with partner airlines also bring discounts. For Zagreb, until the end of January, a 20% discount on airline tickets for flights until March 29 is active. Students, teaching and non-teaching staff of the University “Džemal Bijedić” and the University of Mostar fly with 15% for airline tickets.
The number of arrivals to Mostar in the first eight months of 2023 amounted to almost 60 thousand, and this number is 17 percent higher compared to the same period last year, when slightly more than 50 thousand arrivals were realized. Additional connection with the rest of Europe and the world will certainly bring Mostar a new status.
“This will mean a lot because there is no serious tourist destination without a serious connection with the rest of the world, so in that context this is a big thing and an opportunity, but also a big responsibility,” Kordić believes.
Tourism is of great importance for the City of Mostar, as well as the surrounding area. The continuous development of the airport will attract a greater number of tourists to the region of Herzegovina and thus enable additional development of tourism.
