After the establishment of cooperation with Pegasus Airlines, the management of the International Airport in Tuzla turned towards potential agreements with two more airlines, and a positive outcome is generally expected soon.
In the past few days, the news was announced that from August of this year, the Turkish Pegasus Airlines will establish cooperation with the International Airport in Tuzla, from which it will transport passengers to Istanbul and vice versa.
This cooperation is established without subsidies, and the previously planned two and a half million convertible marks intended for the support of airlines will not be used for now.
This was confirmed by the prime minister of the Tuzla Canton, Irfan Halilagić, after today’s extraordinary session of the cantonal government, where the focus was on the Tuzla airport.
“These funds that we have reserved for subsidies of two and a half million BAM, we will not realize until the Government receives clear guarantees that they will be adequately spent, that is, that we will have an effect, which is full planes,” said Halilagić.
He revealed that talks are currently being held with two companies that travel to destinations that were previously full and attractive.
“Of course, preserving the credibility of the companies, we will not talk about who it is. We are close to an agreement,” said Halilagić.
The currently reduced volume of flights will be used for infrastructure projects and strategic planning, and USAID will help in this, which will be the basis for the implementation of a part of the activities listed in the measures to overcome the current situation at the Tuzla International Airport.
In addition, as stated by Prime Minister of TC, part of the funds, which objectively will not be able to be spent during the current calendar year, have been diverted for the completion of already started projects. At issue are the construction of the atrium facility, the addition and upgrade of the third gate, and the certification of the airport according to EASA standards.
The most important thing is to end the long-standing red tape related to property-legal relations for the land and the construction of the runway’s conscious signaling, for which the main project is being worked on, and the implementation should begin at the end of the year.
“Wizz Air has been asking for this for years. So, minimal light signaling to reduce costs. An hour means nothing to us, and in aviation it is important. With this, we will create those assumptions, make it easier to talk with any company, including Wizz Air who has been our partner for ten years,” added Halilagić.
All of the above, as concluded, should make the Tuzla airport more attractive for business and create preconditions for the further development of that airport, Klix.ba writes.
