The Slovakian capital's airport in Bratislava counted 405.097 passengers in the previous year, 82 percent fewer than in 2019. However, there was growth in the freight sector: the airport recorded an increase of 21 percent to 24.739 tons.

“Such a small number of checked-in passengers was last registered at Bratislava Airport 18 years ago,” says Jozef Pojedinec, Managing Director of Bratislava Airport. “In the first two months of 2020, the airport recorded an increase in passenger numbers compared to January and February 2019. However, from March 13 to mid-June, i.e. for three months, civil arrivals were completely prohibited and only repatriation, cargo or business flights allowed. In addition, the entry ban from high-risk countries applied until September. Although air traffic gradually began to recover, the end of the year was again marked by the second wave of the pandemic and the associated reductions in scheduled flights ”.

Last year, a total of 13.797 arrivals and departures took place at the airport, a decrease of 52 percent compared to 2019, when 28.745 flight movements took place at Bratislava Airport.

Ryanair (Buzz) cancels six routes

The largest customer of Bratislava Airport, Ryanair, is significantly reducing its presence in the 2021 summer flight schedule. With Athens, Leeds Bradford, Thessaloniki, Bologna, Marrakech and Eindhoven, six destinations will be canceled or no longer reactivated. The base was handed over to the Polish subsidiary Buzz in autumn 2020. In some cases, the Slovakian staff is also deployed from Vienna, as Aviation Direct reported.

These destinations will no longer be offered from Bratislava in summer 2021:

• Athens
• Leeds Bradford
• Thessaloniki
• Bologna
• Marrakech
• Eindhoven

Ryanair (Buzz) plans to fly to the following destinations from Bratislava in summer 2021:

• Charleroi
• Burgas
• Birmingham
• Edinburgh
• London Stansted
• Manchester
• Dublin
• Alghero
• Bergamo
• Rome Ciampino
• Luqa (Malta)
• Malaga
• Palma de Mallorca
• Kiev-Borispil
• Paphos

Reductions also at Wizz Air

The second largest customer of Bratislava Airport, Wizz Air, is also reducing its presence at Bratislava Airport. It is currently planned that seven destinations will be offered in the summer flight schedule of 2021. Some of the frequencies are greatly reduced. However, if there is sufficient demand, an expansion is possible.

Destinations that are not included in the list below will not be offered by Wizz Air from Bratislava in the summer of 2021 according to the current planning status.

Wizz Air plans to fly to the following destinations from Bratislava in the summer flight schedule 2021:

• Sofia
• London Luton
• Skopje
• St. Petersburg
• Kiev Shulyany
• Lviv
• Odessa