The state is distributing 985,000 euros to eight airlines so that they can continue to fly to the country.
After the bankruptcy of Adria Airways, Slovenia fears about its flight connections.
Eight airlines are subsidized by the Slovenian state with around 985,000 euros in order to operate regular flight connections to Slovenia. In the first of three funding rounds, the German AUA parent Lufthansa receives the majority of the funding with 371,000 euros, its subsidiary Swiss Air receives 22,000 euros.
Grants also go to Air France, Turkish Airlines, Air Serbia, Wizzair, Montenegro Airlines and LOT, announced the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The airlines that have qualified for the grants will have regular connections to Slovenia for at least two months during the next summer season (March 28 to October 30, 2021) and will have to fly to a Slovenian airport at least twice a week, it said Ministry of Economy.
The more flights an airline will make, the higher the subsidy it will receive. The subsidy is a maximum of 30 euros per passenger.
Adria Airways went bankrupt
After the bankruptcy of the Slovenian Adria Airways, the Slovenian government wants to use subsidies to promote flight connections to Slovenia and maintain the country's connection to international hubs. A total of 5 million euros will be made available.
Applications for the two other application rounds will open in June and October 2021. In the first round, up to 1.5 million euros were available from the funding pot, in the second up to 2.3 million euros and in the third round up to 1.2 million euros.
AUA (Austrian Airlines) does not fly to Ljubljana and, according to a spokesman, is currently not planning to take up the route. Therefore, they do not receive any subsidies from the Slovenian state and will not apply for them.
