To simply use the word 'aviation' is as vague as can be. Furthermore, my ideal scenarios for 2023 in this sector relates to how it affects me, and not the vast majority of frequent flyers. Nevertheless, there are many UK-based travellers who would benefit from my wish list, whilst such a set of hypothetical requests…
Maribor’s Airport is an asset the region needs to and can fully exploit
As a country Slovenia has incredible green credentials - something which inevitably jars with broadening its aviational connectivity. Nevertheless, the question must be asked - does the country want more tourists, or is it focusing on bringing in fewer visitors who arrive with deeper pockets and are more respectful of their natural surroundings? Each trait…
Why you should visit Maribor Porhorje
In the final part of a mini-series of blogs detailing the locations in Europe where I focus my alpine attentions, we turn to the least well known of the areas chronicled, Slovenia's second city Maribor and its Pohorje massif: Pros: One of my trio of stays in Maribor was at the Hotel Orel, perfectly situated…
How Low Cost Carriers can improve access to Austrian and Slovenian Airports
When national newspapers and travel periodicals post reviews of a particular Austrian or Slovenian resort, or a certain aspect of one such as a new hut to hut trail or multi-peak walk, articles are usually concluded with where the author stayed, and how he or she arrived. Although a London-centric media will invariably seek to…
Slovenia and Ryanair: Does the airline simply wish to complete the EU set, or has the previously missing middle ground finally been found?
It has been assumed by many aviation analysts and even those without a professional interest in the industry that Ljubljana's Fraport-owned and operated Brnik Airport held all the cards as to why Slovenia is the only nation within the European Union(EU) where Irish Low Cost Carrier(LCC) Ryanair does not operate. Who though is the puppet…
Can Ryanair solve Slovenia’s poor aviation connectivity?
The fact that Ljubljana's Fraport-operated Brnik Airport is still lagging significantly behind its pre-pandemic passenger numbers, and indeed prior to when Adria Airways ceased operations late in 2019, is not because Slovenia is the only country within the European Union(EU) to not receive flights from Low Cost Carrier(LCC) Ryanair, but brokering a deal with the…
Maribor Airport: Flight of fancy or ready for take off?
When is an airport not an airport? I suppose the answer would be when it doesn't facilitate commercial flight movements despite it having the infrastructure, track record, and ability to do so. Two such operations spring to mind - make that three with the impending closure of Doncaster Sheffield Airport - namely Blackpool in the…
Slovenia: Maribor’s residents seek to protect local countryside from wholly unnecessary airport expansion
Residents living adjacent to Maribor's Edvard Rusjan Airport are rightly concerned by plans to expand the facility. Doing so could not only see the loss of forest and a large parcel of agricultural land, simultaneously undermining Slovenia's hardwired 'green' credentials, but also ultimately be an exercise in futility now that the modern, fit for purpose…
Maribor Airport the real victim of VLM Airlines’ demise
To describe VLM Airlines as Maribor Airport's 'anchor tenant' somewhat stretches a definition more associated with large retail concerns, situated to attract custom to smaller, adjacent businesses. Despite offering a modern, fit for purpose terminal, VLM were though all Maribor's Edvard Rusjan Airport had, aside from sporadic charter flights for visiting soccer teams. Having recently…
Maribor Airport: Where For Now Reality and Fiction Uneasily Coexist
Truth can be stranger than fiction. Although this is a case of the truth slowly seemingly becoming reality, the fidelity of what at first appeared to be an early April the 1st wind-up will not be accepted until hard evidence is seen on the ground; or to be more precise - in the air. Let…
Maribor Airport: no return of London flights but services confirmed to Duesseldorf and Split
Adria Airways have confirmed that flights operated by the Slovenian flag carrier from Maribor's Edvard Rusjan Airport will not recommence during 2016, dashing hopes that its 2015 route into London Southend, its first service from Maribor in fifteen years, will be reintroduced for the summer season. This decision was presumably made before Adria's new owners,…
Adria Airways: new Olsztyn service the only surprise in summer 2016 timetable
There are few surprises within Adria Airways' recently released summer schedule, most of the destinations in a timetable slated to come into force on March 26th have figured in the Slovenian flag carrier's roster for many years. Although ownership of the Brnik-based airline has now passed to German investment vehicle 4K Invest Adria's schedule is…
Adria Airways to sell for €1 – but there’s a catch…
The imminent sale of Slovenian flag carrier Adria Airways has taken a decisive step towards its denouement, with the country's incumbent administration agreeing to facilitate the airline's disposal with a rumoured €2-4 million cash injection that could potentially be used to service the Brnik-based operator's debts, one of the reported conditions demanded by interested parties…
Maribor Airport: management await news of potential Wizz Air and Air Serbia routes
In line with the management's desire to broaden the appeal of Maribor's Edvard Rusjan Airport by introducing a raft of new routes, it has been revealed through the Sierra5 aviation portal that the Delavska hranilnica majority owned aerodrome are awaiting decisions from major regional aviation players Wizz Air and Air Serbia as to whether either, both or…
Alpine Adventures, Soccer, Central Asian Autocracies & Secessionist Politics 