Increase In Traffic A Feature Of 2015

A major feature of the year 2015 was the change in ownership. In the early months of the year a new owner, Fraport AG of Germany, obtained a 100% holding in Aerodrom Ljubljana, and on the final day of March the company was converted from a public limited company into a limited liability company. Its shares were withdrawn from the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, and the company has since been headed by a general manager, the former president of the management board, Mr Zmago Skobir. A great deal was subsequently done in the area of integration into the Fraport Group. Financial reporting, planning and analysis were adapted as part of this process. Certain costs were optimised, and certain work processes were modified.

We were pleased to record a sharp increase in passenger traffic throughout the year. The millionth passenger was welcomed to the airport on 2 September, approximately three weeks earlier than in 2014. Passenger numbers in public transport were up 10% on 2014 at 1,438,304, while the number of aircraft movements in public transport was up 3.8% at 23,212 (number of total aircraft movements was up 4,7% at 32.893). Total cargo tonnage was comparable to 2014 (18,570 tonnes, down 0.2% on last year), while air cargo tonnage was up 3% at 10,115 tonnes.

The increase in traffic is the result of new and upgraded routes, and the resulting more competitive services, which are allowing passengers to choose Ljubljana Airport more frequently for travelling directly to nearby destinations, and to more remote destinations via major European hubs. Swiss International Air Lines launched daily flights to Zurich in March, but unfortunately withdrawed the route in the new year. The domestic airline Adria Airways began flying to Berlin and Stockholm in April, while Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia increased their number of flights to Istanbul and Belgrade respectively. In general airlines have made increasing use of larger (and heavier) aircraft, and load factors have also improved. The domestic airline’s passenger numbers were up 4,9% on 2014, while the foreign airlines’ passenger numbers were up 21,6%. Traffic was growing faster at Ljubljana Airport than at competitors in the region. It is followed by Graz with 7,4%, 6,5% at Zagreb, 3% at Venice (period 1-11/2015 and 2014) and 1.2% at Klagenfurt, and a fall of 0.5% at Trieste (period 1-11/2015 and 2014).

Other notable achievements of the year 2015 include the sale of the participating interest in Adria Airways Tehnika and the work done to reduce harmful impact on the environment. This work was confirmed with Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 2 certification and ISO 14001:2014 certification.

Integration into the group will continue in the future. Moderate growth in traffic is forecast. Two new scheduled airlines are coming to Ljubljana Airport. LOT Polish Airlines will operate five flights a week to Warsaw from 1 March, while Greece’s Aegean Airlines will serve Athens twice a week from June.

If the focus this year has been inward, on internal projects and changes, next year the focus will once again be on a series of project that will be outwardly evident. The main objective for 2016 is to improve the passenger experience. In this connection we will begin the refurbishment of the passenger terminal next year. It will be undertaken in phases and will be completed by 2018. We will also commence the project of moving the road running alongside the airport, thereby improving access to the airport and allowing the development of a commercial and logistics complex on the north side of the airport.