Banja Luka International Airport , also known as Mahovljani Airport, after the nearby village of the same name, is an airport located north northeast of the railway station
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Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
, the second largest city in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. The airport is managed by the government-owned company "Aerodromi Republike Srpske".
History
The construction of the Banja Luka International Airport began in 1976. In accordance with the development plans, capacities were built defining Banja Luka as an airport of secondary importance, restricted to domestic air traffic on the territory of
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
.
After the
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
,
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
was
established with Banja Luka as the de facto capital. That gave Banja Luka Airport new importance and a completely different role. Banja Luka International Airport was opened for civilian air traffic on 18 November 1997.
From 1999 to 2003 the airport served as the main hub of
Air Srpska
Air Srpska was an airline of the Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The airline existed from 1999 to 2003.
Fleet
The Air Srpska fleet consisted of two ATR 72 turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propel ...
, which was the official flag carrier of Republika Srpska. The company was founded by
Jat Airways
Jat Airways (stylized as JatAirways; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jat ervejz, Јат ервејз) was the national flag carrier and largest airline of Serbia, and formerly Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia. Founded in 19 ...
and
Government of Republika Srpska
Government of Republika Srpska ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Влада Републике Српске, Vlada Republika Srpske) is the executive authority of Republika Srpska, along with the President of Republika Srpska. The Prime Minister is ...
. The company ceased all operations in 2003 after increasing debt, and the withdrawal of Jat Airways from the partnership. There were plans for
Sky Srpska, a state-owned airline founded in 2007, to start flights, however, the airline, which never had any aircraft, was closed in 2013.
The airport's facilities were greatly improved in 2002 and 2003, ahead of the visit by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
to Banja Luka in June 2003.
On 15 December 2010, to celebrate the abolition of
visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
requirements
In product development and process optimization, a requirement is a singular documented physical or functional need that a particular design, product or process aims to satisfy. It is commonly used in a formal sense in engineering design, includi ...
for Bosnian citizens traveling to the
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...
countries, a
symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
ic charter flight was organised from Banja Luka to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
. In 2011, Banja Luka airport handled 8,367 passengers, a rise of 74% compared to 2010.
Over the years, the airport has had flights connecting Banja Luka to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
,
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
,
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Ljubljana
Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center.
During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
,
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
,
Tivat
Tivat (, ) is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor. , its population was 9,367. Tivat is the centre of Tivat Municipality, which is the smallest municipality by area in Montenegro.
Name
In Serbian and Montenegrin l ...
, and
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, partly thanks to
Air Srpska
Air Srpska was an airline of the Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The airline existed from 1999 to 2003.
Fleet
The Air Srpska fleet consisted of two ATR 72 turboprop
A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propel ...
which was an airline based at the airport.
Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub ...
and
Montenegro Airlines
Montenegro Airlines a.d. ( cg, Montenegro erlajns) was the flag carrier of Montenegro, headquartered in Podgorica. It operated scheduled and charter services throughout Europe from its hub at Podgorica Airport with a second base maintained at Tiv ...
served Banja Luka during the late 1990s and early 2000s from their respective bases in Vienna and Tivat. Since Air Srpska stopped operations, the Government of Republika Srpska has tried to attract new airlines to fly to Banja Luka through various
subsidies
A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
. Subsidised flights included
Jat Airways
Jat Airways (stylized as JatAirways; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jat ervejz, Јат ервејз) was the national flag carrier and largest airline of Serbia, and formerly Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia. Founded in 19 ...
flights to Belgrade between November 2007 and December 2009, operated with
ATR 72
The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed b ...
,
Austrojet flights to Salzburg and Tivat between July and December 2008, operated 3 times a week with
Dash 8-100, and
Adria Airways
Adria Airways d.o.o. (formerly ''Inex-Adria Aviopromet'' and later ''Inex-Adria Airways'') was the flag carrier of Slovenia, operating scheduled and charter services to European destinations. The company's head office was at Ljubljana Jože Pučn ...
flights to Ljubljana between July 2010 and November 2011, operated 4 times a week with
CRJ 200
The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) is a regional jet designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family.
The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pro ...
.
B&H Airlines
B&H Airlines d.o.o. was the flag carrier of Bosnia and Herzegovina with its head office in Sarajevo. It operated scheduled and charter passenger services as well as small cargo services from its home base at Sarajevo International Airport.Fligh ...
operated flights to
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
for many years until airline went out of business in June 2015. BH Airlines operated seasonal charter flights to
Tivat
Tivat (, ) is a coastal town in southwest Montenegro, located in the Bay of Kotor. , its population was 9,367. Tivat is the centre of Tivat Municipality, which is the smallest municipality by area in Montenegro.
Name
In Serbian and Montenegrin l ...
in
Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
.
Passenger numbers more than doubled in 2014, as Air Serbia restarted flights to
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, but suffered in 2015 due to BH Airlines' bankruptcy and the suspension of the Zurich route. Banja Luka airport owner Government of RS subsidises Air Serbia flights to Belgrade. In April 2018,
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...
announced that it would start its first ever flight from Banja Luka (and Bosnia as a whole) with twice-weekly services to each of Brussels Charleroi and Memmingen, while in May, it added Stockholm Skavsta and, in December, Berlin-Schönefeld to its list of new routes. The flights began in October 2018. Overall, the airline expected 100,000 passengers in 2019. In April 2021,
Wizz Air
Wizz Air, legally incorporated as Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. ( hu, Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Zrt.) is a Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier with its head office in Budapest, Hungary. The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as s ...
announced its arrival and launch of five routes from Banja Luka to Dortmund, Basel/Mulhouse, Eindhoven, Malmö and Stockholm Skavsta.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular flights to and from Banja Luka:
Departures and arrivals
retrieved 26 July 2020
Statistics
Ground transportation
The airport was built in the area of Laktaši
Laktaši ( sr-cyrl, Лакташи) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of the state Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality had a population of 34,966 inhabitants, while the town has a population of 5,879 inhabita ...
and Gradiška municipalities, in a wide valley of the Vrbas expanding into Lijevče
Lijevče, also the Lijevče field ( sh, Lijevče polje, sr-cyr, Лијевче поље), is a small geographical region in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina; a plain situated between the rivers Sava and Vrbas River, Vrbas, and Mount Kozara. It in ...
. It is connected to the new Banja Luka – Gradiška motorway.
See also
* List of airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina
This is a list of airports and airfields in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has:
* 4 International airports (one main airport; Sarajevo International Airport)
* 1 International airport under construction Bihać Golubić Airport
* ...
* Sarajevo International Airport
Sarajevo International Airport ( bs, Međunarodni aerodrom Sarajevo/Међународни аеродром Сарајево) is the main international airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It i ...
* Tuzla International Airport
Tuzla International Airport ( bs, Međunarodni aerodrom Tuzla/Међународни аеродром Тузла); is an airport near Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tuzla International Airport is the second largest airport in Bosnia and Herzegov ...
* Mostar International Airport
Mostar International Airport ( hr, Međunarodna zračna luka Mostar, bs, Međunarodni aerodrom Mostar; ) is an airport near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the village of Ortiješ, southeast of Mostar's railway station.
History
Mostar Airp ...
References
External links
Official website
*
*
{{authority control
Airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Transport in Republika Srpska
Economy of Banja Luka
Buildings and structures in Republika Srpska
Airports established in 1976