The story of Ljubljana Airport began symbolically on Christmas Eve. On December 24, 1963, the first plane landed at Brnik. Regular air traffic was established on January 9, 1964, and this year, in 2024, we celebrate its venerable 60th anniversary. Six decades represent a period during which various challenges were faced, including the toughest ones that required rebuilding traffic from scratch. Despite the challenges, the airport operator has continuously focused on developing airport infrastructure, improving the quality of its services, and steadily increasing the number of passengers. Over the 60 years, more than 47.7 million passengers have travelled through the airport, with over 1.1 million aircraft movements recorded and approximately 662 thousand tons of cargo handled.

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr. Nataša Pirc Musar, who was the honorary speaker at the ceremony, began her speech with a personal story, highlighting fond memories associated with the airport when she worked as a stewardess while still a law student. "But I am convinced that Ljubljana Airport has not only remained etched in my heart but also in the hearts of many Slovenians, who have flown from here and still fly for vacations, business, and personal trips across Europe and the world," she added. The location of the airport is particularly beloved to the president: "Every time you disembark from a plane and gaze upon the majestic peaks of the nearby mountains, you cannot remain indifferent. You know you have flown back home," she said.

"I am delighted with your announcement of further stable growth in the number of passengers and gradual return to the levels you had been experiencing before the pandemic," she addressed the management of Fraport Slovenija, the operator of Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport, optimistically. She emphasized the importance of strengthening flight connections from Ljubljana Airport to improve Slovenia's air connectivity, directly linked to Slovenia's recognition as a tourist destination. "It is well known that good connections contribute to the growth of the local economy, increased tourist visits, and the creation of new jobs. Traffic multimodality is becoming a necessity for modern airports, as evidenced by examples of best practices in neighbouring countries," she emphasized, highlighting the need to establish a railway connection between Ljubljana Airport and the Slovenian railway network, particularly emphasizing the urgent need for a fast railway connection between the airport and the capital and nearby cities.

In conclusion, the president thanked all those who had been part of this story in the past, everyone who had diligently, professionally, and devotedly built this modern and efficient regional hub over the decades - an airport that is now celebrating its venerable 60 years of operation.

The president's speech in its entirety is available here in Slovene. 

The airport's anniversary is marked by strong growth in the number of passengers and successful traffic recovery. After a challenging period, during which the cessation of the national carrier's flights and the COVID-19 pandemic almost simultaneously occurred, resulting in an unimaginable loss of traffic for the airport, Ljubljana Airport is once again bustling. With the boom in tourist travel, passenger traffic is experiencing a rebirth and recording significant growth. In 2023, the airport counted over 1,270,000 passengers, 30 percent more than the previous year. Significant growth in the number of passengers continues. In the first three months of 2024, there were almost 28 percent more passengers compared to the same period last year.

Dr. Babett Stapel, Managing Director of Fraport Slovenija, outlined the company's efforts to continue traffic development. "With stable traffic growth, we expect to serve around 1.4 million passengers by the end of the year. This will bring the number of passengers back to 92 percent of the pre-pandemic traffic volume," she explained, noting this number considers the absence of transfer passengers (about 200,000) who will not return to Ljubljana Airport due to established direct connections from Balkan countries to their final destinations.

This growth will be facilitated by the largest number of carriers to date - 22 will provide 25 flight connections in the summer schedule, including to major European and global hubs, ensuring connectivity with the world. Among the latest enhancements are flights to Luxembourg and upcoming ones to Riga and Copenhagen, scheduled to start at the end of April, with the help of subsidies allocated by the state to improve air connectivity. In late July, a new connection to Madrid will join the series. The rich offer of Ljubljana Airport will be complemented by charter flights to 57 holiday destinations.

Dr. Stapel highlighted efforts to strengthen connections to important air hubs, add new connections, optimize flight schedules, and increase the share of low-cost carrier flights in traffic development plans. Fraport Slovenija aims to position Ljubljana Airport as the airport of choice in the region.

She emphasized that to enhance the competitiveness of Ljubljana Airport and its significance for the region, Fraport Slovenija continues to invest in airport infrastructure, equipment, and IT technology. "From 2014 to 2023, we invested €73 million in airport development," she explained. The most extensive investment in this recent period was the €23 million investment in the new terminal, which opened its doors to passengers in the summer of 2021. With this new addition, Ljubljana Airport has been ranked among modern European airports, with significantly improved user experience for passengers, higher service levels, and a friendlier working environment for employees. "This year and next year, we plan to invest €25 million. Half of this will be allocated to the construction of a new taxiway J and the complete renovation of part of taxiway A, as well as the renovation and reorganization of the main airport apron," she explained about the ongoing investment cycle, adding: "Since taking over the management of the airport in 2014, Fraport Slovenija will invest extensive funds in Slovenian public infrastructure until 2035, totaling €200 million." The company's investments in the future will also focus on achieving a green transition - by 2045, Ljubljana Airport will become a carbon-neutral airport.

Among the company's priorities, the managing director highlighted digitalization and automation, focusing on optimizing airport operational procedures and upgrading services for passengers. Ljubljana Airport is one of the first in the world to use artificial intelligence-supported tools from Assaia for more predictable and faster aircraft turnaround times. Presumably, before summer, the airport will introduce self-bag drop points for passengers in the terminal. In the future, remote-controlled aircraft towing and autonomous baggage towing are planned on the apron.

Sustainable growth, innovation, efficiency, and customer centricity are priorities that permeate Fraport Slovenija's strategy and also the strategy of the Fraport Group, to which Ljubljana Airport belongs. "Connecting the world with tomorrow" is the mission that Fraport pursues through its home airport in Frankfurt and all its airports worldwide. Fraport AG is one of the leading global players in airport management. It is committed to enhancing value sustainably, with responsibility to local stakeholders, the economy, society, and the environment. Its broad range of management and advisory solutions is based on over a century of expertise and experience in aviation.

MILESTONES IN THE HISTORY OF LJUBLJANA AIRPORT
 
1963–1990

The first DC-6B aircraft of the Slovenian airline, then named Adria Aviopromet (later Adria Airways), landed at the newly opened airport on December 24, 1963, with regular air traffic commencing on January 9 the following year. In 1964, the second phase of the unfinished airport was initiated and completed, extending the runway to 3,000 meters and enlarging the airport apron. In 1968, the company outlined new directions for the airport's development: establishing regular domestic and international traffic, developing air cargo traffic, and forming a consolidation center for it. The most visible results of these directions were a new passenger terminal (1973), a cargo terminal (1976), the reconstruction of the runway (1978), inclusion in regular domestic and international traffic, and the opening of an intercontinental route to New York (1978). The period after 1980 was marked by an unfavourable economic situation at home and abroad, as well as relatively reduced investment in development.
 
1991–2000

With Slovenia's independence, Ljubljana Airport became the central state airport but faced a significant decline in traffic due to political and war events in the former Yugoslavia. On June 26, at 13:30, the airspace over Slovenia was closed, including the airport. The closure, with minor exceptions when the airport was temporarily open, lasted until mid-February 1992. During this time, Aerodrom Ljubljana took the opportunity to renovate the airport building, renew the aircraft parking apron, and introduce information technology for airport staff and passengers. Slovenian carrier Adria Airways became the largest partner of Aerodrom Ljubljana during the period of reduced traffic at the airport, leading to the resurfacing of the runway. In 1992 and 1993, a major expansion of the passenger terminal took place. A modern radar for precision landing was also installed. In 1996, the company completed the process of ownership transformation, and the following year, Aerodrom Ljubljana was registered in the court register as a joint-stock company. In 1999, the airport received permission to operate under conditions of reduced visibility CAT III B, joining around 100 airports worldwide with such equipment.
 
2001–2010

The year 2001 was a very challenging year for global air traffic, which also affected Ljubljana Airport. After the terrorist attack on New York on September 11, world air traffic entered a crisis as passenger numbers drastically dropped overnight. In 2003, celebrating its 40th year, the airport began constructing a hangar for general aviation and expanding the general aviation apron. In 2004, the airport exceeded one million passengers annually for the first time in its history. That year marked a turning point in traffic development, with the introduction of flights by the low-cost carrier easyJet on the London-Stansted route. Subsequently, the airport started to resemble modern airports worldwide. In 2005, a modern parking garage with a business annex was built, and in 2006, the main aircraft apron was expanded. In 2007, operations began in the new passenger terminal, and following a government decision, the airport was renamed Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport. As part of an extensive investment cycle, the runway for aircraft was also extended that year. The airport started developing into a hub for cargo traffic. With the economic crisis in 2009, Ljubljana Airport faced a significant decline in traffic, but Aerodrom Ljubljana, despite lower revenues, did not deviate from its plan to invest in basic infrastructure. The main airport apron was renovated and expanded, and the runway, connectors, and the taxiway alongside it were thoroughly renovated.

2011-2023

The trend of declining traffic reversed in 2013. The Slovenian government placed Aerodrom Ljubljana on the list of companies predominantly owned by the state for sale. The airport managing company was sold to a strategic owner Fraport AG, a German airport operator, which signed a purchase agreement for 75.5% of the shares in 2014. In early 2015, the majority owner, Fraport AG, acquired a 100% stake in Aerodrom Ljubljana, and the company was transformed from a joint-stock company into a limited liability company. An important step for the further development of the airport was the start of the relocation of the road section past the airport in 2016. In 2017, Aerodrom Ljubljana was renamed Fraport Slovenija. In 2018, Ljubljana Airport concluded the year with a record number of passengers, totalling 1,818,229. In 2019, the domestic carrier Adria Airways declared bankruptcy and ceased operations. Construction work began on expanding the new passenger terminal. In 2020, the global pandemic of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus was declared, halting global passenger air traffic. A complete ban on commercial flights in the Slovenian airspace lasted for two months. Due to measures taken by countries worldwide to curb the spread of the coronavirus, global passenger air traffic drastically declined. The pandemic continued to impact passenger air traffic in 2021, and airlines gradually started returning to Ljubljana Airport. In 2021, the new passenger terminal was opened. With a modern facility of 10,000 m2, Fraport Slovenija offered users higher quality and a greater variety of services, creating a better working environment and positioning Ljubljana Airport among modern European airports. Also, in 2021, the low-cost carrier flydubai established a direct connection with the United Arab Emirates, with flights to Dubai. This marked a unique milestone for the development of traffic as the first regular air route outside Europe since Slovenia's independence. With an increased demand for handling of air pallets, the company decided to invest in upgrading cargo facilities, and in 2023 opened the expanded part of the cargo terminal with new technological equipment for more efficient cargo reception and dispatch. Ljubljana Airport welcomed its one millionth passenger for the first time since 2019, and by the end of the year 2023 handled more than 1,270,000 passengers