The Director of the Republic of Srpska Airports, Milan Račić, told Srna that priority task of this company was to integrate Banja Luka Airport into the global air traffic, and that hard work was underway on establishing connection with the Russian Federation.

Račić pointed out that there was great interest in a flight that would connect the Republic of Srpska and Russia, and that Republic of Srpska Airports had been one step away from resolving that destination before the coronavirus pandemic.

– Due to the pandemic, the negotiations have been postponed for better times and now we are expecting those negotiations to continue with two or three airlines. I think that the Republic of Srpska has the potential for cooperation with the Russian Federation in air traffic, and that is one of the tasks we have set before ourselves – said Račić.

Račić reminded that this year, in addition to the existing cooperation with Ryanair, Banja Luka Airport also established cooperation with the company Wizz Air, with five new destinations, namely Dortmund, Eindhoven, Malmo, Stockholm and Basel.

According to him, this year, after normalization of the situation, the company Ryanair started operating a line to Gothenburg, with two departures per week, but they subsequently introduced a third departure due to passengers’ high demand.

– In July, we are expecting continuation of cooperation with the destinations Berlin, Frankfurt Hahn, Memmingen, Brussels, as well as beginning of the postponed lines to Vienna and Milan – Račić emphasized.

He pointed out that citizens were satisfied with the new destinations, and that establishment of a flight from Banja Luka to Tivat was eagerly awaited.

– That operation starts on 27 June. Air Montenegro will operate twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays. This is a connection we once had through the company Air Srpska and for which there is great interest, because many of our citizens like to travel to Montenegro – Račić noted.

Concerning the regular Banja Luka-Belgrade flight by Air Serbia, Račić pointed out that it was a line of special public importance, and expressed the expectation that the number of flights would increase from the existing two per week to three and more.

Račić said that the operation of Banja Luka Airport, as well as of all others in the world, was still affected by the pandemic, i.e. restrictive measures differing from country to country and changing very quickly.

– Global expectations are for air traffic to return to 2019 results only in 2023 and 2024, or maybe in 2025. Our goal is to make a radical turn in the operation of Banja Luka Airport, which did not have a significant volume of traffic in the previous period, but also in the contribution to the economy of the Republic of Srpska – Račić added.

He noted that due to the pandemic, all airports were at a zero and that now was a new historic start, which is why Banja Luka Airport should take the opportunity to cooperate with all interested companies.

Speaking about the establishment of cargo traffic, Račić said that it was also one of the priorities, being an excellent financial deal for any airport.

– We have finished a cargo facility and obtaining of a decision of the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH on customs warehouse registration is ongoing. At the same time, we are negotiating with some companies on introducing cargo operations, i.e. import and export of some goods – Račić emphasized.

He added that due to the proximity of the EU border, the Republic of Srpska had a strategic position for this type of traffic, and that it should definitely be exploited

Source: SRNA

Photo: RTRS