Europe’s largest low cost airline, Ryanair, will launch flights between Stockholm Skavsta Airport and Podgorica this spring, marking the carrier’s fourth destination from the Montenegrin capital.
The new service will operate twice per week, each Thursday and Sunday, starting April 2. Tickets are already on sale through the airline’s website. “We are delighted to introduce new flights out of Podgorica for the 2017 summer season, which includes Stockholm and the recently launched flights from Berlin, for a total of four destinations from this airport. As a result, we will handle 110.000 passengers to and from Podgorica this year and create eighty local jobs at the airport”, the no frills carrier said in a statement.
Ryanair initially intended to introduce flights from London, Barcelona, Stockholm and Milan to Tivat, however, the no frills carrier has warned that high fees at Montenegro’s two international airports continue to be an issue. The country is one of the most expensive for Ryanair, with its charges exceeding other Eastern European nations. “The main issue with Montenegrin airports is that their fees are non-competitive, especially when compared to Greece or other similar holiday destinations. That is the main reason we are so late on the market, as we are more focused on more accessible destinations elsewhere. Tivat is one of the airports that is very appealing to us. If its fees were lower it would have been part of our plans much earlier”, the carrier’s Route Manager said. He added, “The expense of flying one passenger from Europe to Montenegro is much higher than, say, to Cyprus. That presents a big business barrier for us and is slowing our growth. There is no magic formula – the market is stimulated by low fares. That’s a fact”.
