Air Montenegro has been granted permits to commence seventh-freedom flights from Tuzla to Maastricht in the Netherlands and Istanbul but has been denied rights by the relevant authorities from Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Germany. According to the “Klix” portal, the regulator from Luxembourg is yet to respond to the permit request. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Civil Aviation Directorate has also given the green light to Air Montenegro, meaning the carrier can launch flights to the two abovementioned destinations, if it chooses to do so. Securing seventh-freedom rights, where an airline from a foreign country seeks to fly between two countries that are not its own, is usually a complicated process.
Air Montenegro is expected to launch flights from Tuzla in late November, if it proceeds with its plans. Initially the carrier intended on basing an aircraft in the city, however, that now seems unlikely with approvals secured for just two destinations. The Montenegrin carrier is aiming to reduce the sharp seasonality in its network by focusing on Tuzla in the winter months. On the other hand, Tuzla Airport is keen to replace Wizz Air’s traffic following the closure of the budget carrier’s base in the city and the termination of most of its routes.
The government of the Tuzla Canton recently announced it would launch a public call to subsidise airlines that introduce flights from the city. It has allocated roughly 1.27 million euros in subsidies. “By subsidising airlines, we want to restore routes that were discontinued with the departure of Wizz Air. We have held discussions and made agreements with several airlines. We do not anticipate spending all the funds, but we want to share the risk. A public call for airlines will be issues in the coming days where all the details will be defined”, the Prime Minister of the Tuzla Canton, Irfan Halilagić, said.
.jpg)
