Ljubljana Airport

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport
Letališče Jožeta Pučnika Ljubljana
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerFraport Slovenia d.o.o.[1]
OperatorFraport Slovenia d.o.o.
ServesLjubljana, Slovenia
LocationZgornji Brnik
OpenedDecember 1963
Elevation AMSL388 m / 1,273 ft
Coordinates46°13′28″N 14°27′22″E / 46.22444°N 14.45611°E / 46.22444; 14.45611 (Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport)
Websitelju-airport.si
Map
LJU
Location of airport in Slovenia
LJU
LJU (Europe)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12/30 3,300 10,827 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Total Passengers 1,438,713
Aircraft movements 25,457
Cargo (metric tons) 12,353
Source: Slovenian AIP at EUROCONTROL[2]
Statistics from Fraport[3]

Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (Slovene: Letališče Jožeta Pučnika Ljubljana) (IATA: LJU, ICAO: LJLJ), also known by its previous name Brnik Airport (Slovene: Letališče Brnik), is the international airport serving Ljubljana and the largest airport in Slovenia. It is located near Brnik, 24 km (15 mi) northwest[2] of Ljubljana and 9.5 km (5.9 mi) east of Kranj, at the foothills of Kamnik–Savinja Alps.

History

The airport was officially opened in December 1963.[4] It replaced Polje Airport in the former Municipality of Polje near Ljubljana,[5] which served as the city's airport from 1933 and was Slovenia's first civil airport.[6] Regular flights from the new airport at Brnik began in January 1964.[4]

In the 1980s, Jat Airways offered flights from Chicago to Belgrade that included a nonstop segment between New York City and Ljubljana. The airline employed McDonnell Douglas DC-10s on the route. However, the flight from Belgrade to Chicago did not stop in Ljubljana.[7]

On 27 June 1991, two days after Slovenia's Independence from Yugoslavia, the Yugoslav People's Army began its military operations within the country. The airport was bombed during the first day of the war. The next day, 28 June, two journalists from Austria and Germany, Nikolas Vogel and Norbert Werner, were killed from a missile that struck their car near the airport, where they were both driving by during that time. Four Adria Airways airliners also took serious damage from the Yugoslav Air Force. The fighting ended on 7 July with the Brioni Agreement.[8][9]

On 8 December 2004, the airport received its first annual millionth passenger. Overall, the airport handled 1,721,355 passengers in 2019, representing a 5% drop in traffic figures compared to the previous year.

In 2007, the right-wing government proposed renaming the airport from Aerodrom Ljubljana to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport. Jože Pučnik was a Slovene right-wing public intellectual, dissident, politician, and leader of the Democratic Opposition of Slovenia (Demos) between 1989 and 1992.

Due to growing air traffic and Slovenia's EU entry, which requires the separation of traffic into Schengen and non-Schengen, Aerodrom Ljubljana Airport Authorities have prepared a redevelopment plan for the passenger terminal. The expansion was to be carried out in two phases. Works on the first phase began in early July 2007 to accommodate Slovenia's entry into the Schengen Area in December 2007. The terminal building (T1) was extended with a new upper level which added an additional 4,000 m2 (43,000 sq ft) to the departure lounge and four jetways have also been installed for easier passenger access to and from the terminal. In 2013, the second phase of terminal expansion which included a new terminal T2 was scrapped by the minority stakeholders.[10]

In 2014, the Slovenian government initiated a privatisation process of the airport. The bid was won by Fraport which, in turn, acquired a 75.5% stake in the airport.[11] The remaining shares were acquired in the following months resulting in Fraport taking 100% ownership of the airport.


Facilities

Runway

The airport has a 3,300 m × 60 m (10,827 ft × 197 ft) paved runway which is equipped with ILS Cat IIIb on runway 30. NDB and VOR approach are also available.

Expansion plan

In April 2017 the airport operator Fraport Slovenia announced a plan to expand the existing passenger terminal.[12] A modular solution was proposed which can be carried out in phases that are effectively and continuously adapted to traffic development needs.

The first phase of the terminal expansion was opened for traffic in July 2021.[13] The capacity of the departures area was increased from 500 passengers per hour to 1,250 passengers per hour. A new 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft) extension was built to the west of the old terminal building.[14] It includes a large duty-free shop, a new business lounge, one new air bridge, as well as renovated food & beverage and promotional areas. There are 22 check-in desks and five long security lines available. A new baggage sorting area was also added and the baggage reclaim area was expanded and equipped with two long carousels.

The existing passenger terminal, which covers 13,000 m2 (140,000 sq ft), was partly renovated and functionally incorporated with the new building. The construction began in July 2019[15] and was completed in June 2021 in time for Slovenia's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The entire renovated and expanded terminal complex covers a total of 28,587 m2 (307,710 sq ft).

In 2017 Fraport Slovenija also published a revised Master Plan for the period 2010–2040.[16] It includes a plan to construct a new 6,000 m2 (65,000 sq ft) cargo terminal to the east of the airport complex, expansion of passenger and aircraft maintenance aprons and a relocation of the general aviation apron to the west. To the north, a business and logistics center named Airport City is planned. It will include various business and logistic facilities as well as a new hotel, there are multiple subsidies as well as incentives for the potential investor.[17] In January 2018 a new road from Kranj to Mengeš that will enable the development of the Airport City was opened.[18]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and seasonal flights to and from Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport:[19][20]

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens[21][22]
Air Dolomiti Munich[23]
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle[24]
Air Montenegro Podgorica
Seasonal: Tivat[25]
Air Serbia Belgrade,[26] Niš[27]
airBaltic Riga[28][29]
Seasonal: Gran Canaria[30]
British Airways Seasonal: London–Heathrow[31]
Brussels Airlines Brussels[32]
easyJet Edinburgh (begins 4 April 2026),[33] London–Gatwick,[34] Manchester[35]
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki[36]
Flydubai Dubai–International[37][38]
GP Aviation Pristina[39]
Iberia Seasonal: Madrid[40]
Israir Seasonal: Tel Aviv
KLM Amsterdam[41]
LOT Polish Airlines[42] Warsaw–Chopin[43]
Lufthansa[44] Frankfurt,[45] Munich[45]
Luxair Seasonal: Luxembourg[46][47]
Nesma Airlines Seasonal charter: Hurghada[48]
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Copenhagen[49]
Nouvelair Monastir[50]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen (begins 26 January 2026)[51]
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich[52]
Trade Air[53][54] Seasonal charter: Heraklion, Kos, Samos
Transavia Seasonal: Paris–Orly[55]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul[56]
Vueling Barcelona[57]
Wizz Air[58] Podgorica (begins 2 June 2026),[59] Skopje[60][61]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
ASL Airlines Venice[62]
ASL Airlines France Paris–Charles de Gaulle[63]
DHL Aviation Leipzig/Halle[64]
Lipican Aer Sarajevo[65]
SprintAir Cologne[66]
SwiftAir Hellas Belgrade[67]

Statistics

Traffic figures and development

Pre-2014[68]
Year Passengers Change Cargo (t) Change Aircraft movements Change
1964 78,179 / 88 / 2,343 /
1965 133,184 70% 177 101% 3,180 36%
1966 136,584 3% 235 33% 4,099 29%
1967 136,665 0% 306 30% 4,479 9%
1968 68,303 50% 304 1% 3,807 15%
1969 96,108 41% 1,068 251% 4,474 18%
1970 171,503 78% 1,879 76% 5,728 28%
1971 273,946 60% 2,288 22% 6,509 14%
1972 275,460 1% 3,016 32% 8,525 31%
1973 367,872 34% 4,578 52% 8,633 1%
1974 668,599 82% 7,210 57% 13,123 52%
1975 553,565 17% 7,376 2% 11,645 11%
1976 528,490 5% 5,922 20% 10,797 7%
1977 541,592 2% 6,179 4% 10,964 2%
1978 475,242 12% 5,758 7% 8,941 18%
1979 661,254 39% 7,602 32% 12,397 39%
1980 581,103 12% 6,085 20% 11,312 9%
1981 659,465 13% 7,328 20% 11,805 4%
1982 627,931 5% 6,627 10% 10,870 8%
1983 595,260 5% 6,808 3% 9,743 10%
1984 623,588 5% 7,356 8% 10,050 3%
1985 668,285 7% 6,751 8% 11,624 16%
1986 785,281 18% 7,507 11% 12,518 8%
1987 886,281 13% 7,450 1% 14,038 12%
1988 835,206 6% 7,261 3% 13,716 2%
1989 725,064 13% 6,752 7% 14,296 4%
1990 765,033 6% 5,878 13% 16,253 14%
1991 347,583 55% 4,662 21% 8,794 46%
1992 248,851 28% 5,074 9% 8,861 1%
1993 402,563 62% 8,420 66% 12,898 46%
1994 497,456 24% 9,881 17% 15,821 23%
1995 638,268 28% 10,499 6% 17,868 13%
1996 668,532 5% 9,294 11% 18,190 2%
1997 713,696 7% 10,161 9% 20,279 11%
1998 786,600 10% 10,953 8% 25,723 27%
1999 895,540 14% 11,093 1% 27,219 6%
2000 991,693 11% 12,396 12% 29,965 10%
2001 894,130 10% 12,403 1% 29,050 3%
2002 872,966 2% 12,021 3% 28,751 1%
2003 928,397 6% 12,080 1% 31,737 10%
2004 1,048,238 13% 11,780 2% 35,502 12%
2005 1,218,896 16% 11,560 2% 37,767 6%
2006 1,334,355 9% 15,309 32% 40,991 9%
2007 1,524,028 14% 21,717 42% 46,517 13%
2008 1,673,050 10% 17,188 21% 47,926 3%
2009 1,433,855 14% 14,333 17% 45,492 5%
2010 1,388,651 3% 17,310 21% 42,569 6%
2011 1,369,485 1% 19,659 14% 39,267 8%
2012 1,198,911 12% 17,031 13% 35,019 11%
2013 1,321,153 10% 17,777 4% 33,112 5%
Traffic at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport
Year Passengers Change Cargo (t) Change Aircraft movements Change
2014 1,307,379 3.1% 9,831 6.2% 31,405 5.2%
2015 1,438,304 10.0% 10,140 3.1% 32,893 4.7%
2016 1,404,831 2.3% 10,379 2.4% 32,702 0.6%
2017 1,683,045 19.8% 12,324 18.7% 34,467 5.4%
2018 1,812,411 7.7% 12,378 0.4% 35,512 3.0%
2019 1,721,355 5.0% 11,365 8.2% 31,489 11.3%
2020 288,235 83.3% 10,559 7.1% 12,980 58.8%
2021 421,934 46.4% 11,401 8.0% 17,461 34.5%
2022 970,152 129.9% 12,480 9.5% 21,571 23.5%
2023 1,270,382 30.9% 11,443 8.3% 22,749 5.5%
2024 1,438,713 13.3% 12,353 8.0% 25,457 11.9%
2025 (30.11.)[69] 1,489,640 10.1% 10,896 3.8% 23,087 3.3%

Source: Fraport Annual Reports [70][71]

Busiest routes

Top 10 busiest routes from Ljubljana in 2024[72]
Rank Airport Passengers Airlines
1 Istanbul 191,962 Turkish Airlines
2 Frankfurt 137,768 Lufthansa
3 Zurich 120,675 Swiss International Air Lines
4 Belgrade 86,149 Air Serbia
5 London–Gatwick 80,524 easyJet
6 Munich 76,953 Lufthansa
7 Brussels 71,583 Brussels Airlines
8 Paris–Charles de Gaulle 65,496 Air France
9 London–Heathrow 63,822 British Airways
10 Amsterdam 60,656 KLM, Transavia

Ground transport

The airport is served by an exit off the A2 motorway and by bus services connecting it with the surrounding cities of Ljubljana, Kranj, Kamnik as well as Klagenfurt and its airport in Austria. Plans for a railway line connecting the airport with the city of Ljubljana and possibly also Kranj and Kamnik have been presented in the past, however the line most likely won't be built in the near future. The Airport is connected with many bigger Slovenian cities by bus and shuttle connections. Klagenfurt is connected by the Alpe Adria bus line. Other means of transportation to and from the airport are limited to the taxi services which are not controlled by the airport authority or Fraport Slovenija, and shared shuttle service with ticket sale point in the main arrival lobby.

See also

References

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