In the past, lines of passengers at Tuzla International Airport used to be daily. Now the light is out. There are no passengers because the Tuzla airport has a miserable number of flights. There are no planes on the runway. There are empty parking spaces, and it used to be a mission impossible to find a place for a car. It can already be seen that a failed summer season is coming.
The administration assures that everything is being done to overcome the current situation, and they expect an increase in the number of flights from autumn. However, the Tuzla airport cannot recover after the cancellation of numerous Wizz Air routes last year.
“There is no magic wand here, some time must pass. Yes, when we compare our statistics there are significantly fewer passengers, more than 50% compared to last year, but comparing to other airports it is still much more and no one mentions that it is alarming there. We think that sometimes the spotlight is turned too much towards Tuzla,” Dzevad Halilcevic, director of Tuzla International Airport, told.
Empty airport – empty apartments
And when those spotlights are turned on, you can see the negative effect on the economy in the Tuzla Canton (TC). This also results in these empty apartments. Although the owners do not want to be in front of the cameras, they explain that their investment failed. Many took out loans and invested hundreds of thousands BAM.
Everyone hoped that it would be different when the Government of TC allocated 2.5 million BAM for subsidy. The Lumiwings company then arrived at Tuzla International Airport. However, they also withdrew after several months of work.
“From the very announcement… there was very bad publicity that created mistrust among passengers regarding Lumiwings, although last summer Lumiwings flew without any problems from Mostar without negative publicity. They flew to five countries from our airport and it had very few passengers – it was not profitable”, added Halilcevic.
Political interference
Citizens expect new subsidies and the former number of flights. Almir Avdic, the owner of the rent car agency, gave up business at the International Airport two years ago. He believes that everything has a much wider context of inadequate approach by the authorities.
“The administration and all previous administrations since 2020 did not listen to us, the real sector, and raised rents, so over 50% of the rent of the car houses came from the international airport. We all know, it’s an open secret, that administrations are beingappointed by parties and this situation has arisen. In 2019, we had 600,000 passengers, and now that number is 80% lower,” said Avdic.
Some are optimistic
This is evident when looking at the flight schedule of this airport. Although this is the situation, machines and investments in infrastructure are noticeable. The parking area is being expanded. Some are optimistic.
“It has a political background… the cancellation of Wizz Air flights… We see that the same company flies from Banja Luka, it has to do with Orban and Dodik. It’s a political background… As for the citizens of TC, everyone is convinced that the airport will get back on its feet,” said Abdurahman.
It’s on shaky ground right now. Stray dogs on the runway instead of airplanes, N1 writes.
E.Dz.
