The Government of Slovenia has decided to give 1.5 million euros (1.8 million USD) to airlines that maintained scheduled services to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport between the end of March and the end of September this year. The airlines that will receive a portion of the money will be chosen by a special commission, but to do this they need to have applied. There is also a set of criteria that airlines need to have met.

A retrospective grant by Slovenia

In an unusual move, the Slovenian Ministry for Economic Development and Technology has formed a commission that will decide how much money to give to airlines that operated flights to Ljubljana Airport this year. The decision comes as Slovenia's aviation industry hits rock bottom following the adverse impact of COVID-19.

The total amount of money available for eligible airlines is 1.5 million euros (1.8 million USD), though the exact way in which this will be divided up is still unknown at this stage. The commission will meet in a week's time, on Monday 23rd November, to make their decision.

Strictly, only airlines that have operated at least two weekly flights to Slovenia will be chosen. Furthermore, they had to operate for a minimum of two calendar months within the set time period, which is the six months running from Monday 30th March until Wednesday 30th September this year.

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Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines will serve both departing and arriving passengers between Istanbul and Tbilisi. Photo: Getty Images

Airlines need to score 35 points

In a Word document published to explain the criteria that airlines need to meet in order to receive a grant from Slovenia, the Ministry has included a scorecard which will rank the applicants. The scorecard carries a maximum of 70 points, and airlines must score at least 35 to receive a grant of any amount.

The criteria that carry 20 points include:

  • On the day that the application is submitted, the applicant performed the activity of air passenger transport (scheduled flights) in more than 10 countries
  • The applicant performs the activity in the European Union and non-EU European countries, and implements intercontinental flights
  • The applicant flies to Slovenia at least 5 times a week
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The last flight between Paris and Ljubljana will be operated tomorrow, by an Air France Hop Embraer aircraft. Photo: Getty Images

The requirements then remain the same but the points drop in value as the criteria is progressively loosened.

For example, the airline will score 15 marks if it operates in between five and nine countries, and 10 marks if it operates in no more than four countries. If the airline does not operate scheduled intercontinental services, it will score 15 marks instead of 20.

Where the airline flies to Slovenia fewer than five times a week, the points drop from 20 to 15 so long as the frequency is at least twice weekly. For one weekly service the airline will score 10 marks.

It will be interesting to see how Slovenia divides up the money that's available, and which airlines end up receiving it.

Which airlines do you think are set to benefit from the grant that Slovenia is offering? Do you think this is a sensible move? Let us know what you think of this story in the comments below.