Sarajevo Airport is preparing for its busiest-ever summer season as several carriers up their services to Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital city. Compared to the previous year, the airport has seen its passenger numbers quadruple in the first three months of 2022.

Sarajevo expecting a big summer

As the aviation industry continues its recovery, Sarajevo International Airport (SJJ) has projected it will exceed its pre-pandemic capacity this summer. The largest airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina will welcome several new carriers and former airlines during what could be a record summer season.

New airlines serving the airport include Air Cairo operating flights from Hurghada, LOT Polish Airlines with services from Warsaw and Royal Jordanian Airlines, which will offer seasonal flights from Amman.

Wizz Air
Wizz Air will play a key role in a record-breaking summer for SJJ. Photo: Getty Images

The airport will also welcome back Qatar Airways following the airline's two-year absence due to COVID. The Middle Eastern carrier will offer thrice-weekly flights between Doha and Sarajevo.

Qatar Airways’ Regional Manager for Southern Europe, Matte Hoffmann, said,

"We are excited about the resumption of flights to Sarajevo. As the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the city is the favorite gateway to the country for business and leisure travelers. With three weekly services, passengers from Sarajevo will be connected with over 140 destinations via our hub in Doha."

The airport's summer schedule will see 22 airlines offering services to 34 destinations globally. Those destinations are Istanbul, Frankfurt, Dubai, Stockholm, Zurich, Riyadh, Jeddah, Sharjah, Vienna, Belgrade, Zagreb, Antalya, Hurghada, Bale / Mulhouse, Cologne, Stuttgart, Dortmund, Memmingen, Eindhoven, Copenhagen, Paris, Gothenburg, Bodrum, Charleroi, Manama, Kuwait, Oman, Amman, Abu Dhabi, London, Warsaw, Treviso and Doha.

Increased frequencies

Wizz Air, the dominant carrier at Sarajevo Airport, has already launched new services from London Luton and Treviso this year. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, which celebrated its first year in January, is also set to double its weekly flights from two to four next month.

SJJ also expects an increase in charter flights this summer and is looking at increasing its connections to destinations in Spain and Italy.

Sarajevo Airport said,

"An increase in the number of charter flights is expected at Sarajevo International Airport this year, especially to Turkey and Egypt."

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Already breaking records this year

Business is already booming at Sarajevo Airport, with the airport exceeding its pre-pandemic capacity during the first quarter of this year. In January, February and March, the airport served 177.288 passengers, a 1.9% increase on its record-breaking 2019 figure for the same period.

A7-AHI_Airbus_A320-232_Qatar_Airways
Qatar Airways will return to Sarajevo after a two-year hiatus. Photo: Sergey Korovkin 84 via Wikimedia Commons

The airport handled quadruple the number of passengers compared to Q1 2021 despite the impact of the Omicron variant on international travel.

Sarajevo Airport added,

"We have launched several initiatives with the authorities to subsidize airlines, in order to increase our passenger numbers, aircraft movements and destination count."

Over 70,000 passengers passed through SJJ's doors in March, up 3.5% from 2019. This is also a vast improvement on the 18,115 passengers served in March 2021.

Do you have your eyes on any flights to Sarajevo this summer? Let us know your travel plans in the comments.