Low cost airlines not interestedin Montenegro?

Since the independence of the small republic of Montenegro from its state union 2 years ago, the government has not received any request from low cost airlines to commence services despite the country seeing an increase in tourism each year and having 2 international airports. The Government of Montenegro says that low cost will commence flights to the country when they see that they will be able to make a profit and when the government gives them approval. The Montenegrin government is requesting low cost airlines to fly to its airports throughout the year, which many airlines such as Ryan Air, Easy Jet and Jet2.com see as unprofitable as they believe their flights could only make money during the summer season. This is in contrast to neighbouring Croatia where the government has put no ultimatums to low cost airlines and as result many operate to cities such as Split and Dubrovnik on a seasonal basis.

Meanwhile the national airline, Montenegro Airlines, is announcing that it will, in the following few months introduce a “low cost scheme”. This will offer 15 seats on each flight at low-cost airline prices. However there have been suggestions that the Montenegrin Government is protecting its national airline, as the company begins to grow and enter new markets, as well as order new aircraft. Despite this, Tivat and Podgorica have seen a rise in passenger numbers this year. This news is particularly surprising for Tivat Airport which has been left out from the schedules of airlines that operate charters to Tivat during the summer as these airliners have moved to Podgorica due to a noise curfew imposed at Tivat from this year.