Two airlines have submitted applications for the launch of subsidised flights to Slovenia, the country’s Ministry for Infrastructure told EX-YU Aviation News. “Currently we are checking whether they fully meet the tender conditions”, it noted. It did not specify which two carriers have applied as part of the recently completed eighth tender aimed at improving the country’s connectivity. Although the subsidy scheme is open to flights to all three of Slovenia’s commercial airports, both applications are believed to target services to Ljubljana, continuing the trend seen with all previous submissions under the program. So far, only 494.376 euros of the allocated 16.8-million-euro subsidy scheme fund has been spent, with Luxair, airBaltic, and Norwegian being the only beneficiaries so far.

Ljubljana Airport has recently said it is targeting new services to Barcelona, Berlin, Prague, Stockholm and Vienna. Only airlines registered and based in the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) are eligible for the subsidies. The ECAA is made up of states that are part of the European Union, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Iceland, Macedonia, Norway, Kosovo, and Montenegro. For its part, the Slovenian government is primarily targeting the introduction of flights to Vienna, Copenhagen, Madrid, Prague, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Oslo, Barcelona, and Lisbon, although all destinations within the ECAA are eligible.

The Slovenian government is considering revising its airline subsidy program. The Ministry for Infrastructure has indicated that policy changes could follow the adoption of Slovenia’s new aviation law, expected later this year. “The Act on Aid for Ensuring Greater Air Connectivity, on the basis of which the current public tender is being implemented, will apply until October 5, 2025, i.e., until the new Aviation Act (ZLet-1) comes into force. After this date, it will be possible to notify the European Commission of a new financial aid scheme with a duration of up to three years and conduct a new public tender on the basis of ZLet-1, so the Ministry of Infrastructure is considering a possible continuation of the measure”, it said, The Ministry added, “In addition to conducting the public tender, we are also studying options that will improve Slovenia’s air connectivity in the long term, as we are aware of the short-term effects of a time-limited public tender. We are open to various forms of cooperation with airlines that would help increase air connectivity in Slovenia in the long term and we are interested in discussing possibilities for cooperation”.