Brussels Airlines And Wizz Will Return To Ljubljana For EU Presidency

Brussels Airlines and Wizz Air will resume flights to Ljubljana from Brussels as Slovenia prepares to take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Slovenia’s aviation industry has suffered greatly from the collapse of its former flag carrier, Adria Airways, so it has invested considerable effort into increasing air connectivity.

Brussels Airlines and Wizz Air will resume flights to Ljubljana this summer. Photo: Getty Images

Slovenia will take over the EU presidency this year

It is Slovenia’s turn to take over the Presidency of the European Council this year, from 1st July until 31st December 2021. When an EU member state takes over, it typically sees a notable boost in air passenger traffic for this six-month duration.

In advance of the takeover date of 1st July, Slovenia has a major problem: there are barely any flights to the country at the moment, ever since the flag carrier, Adria Airways, collapsed.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, all of Slovenia has just one flight: a Lufthansa rotation from Frankfurt. On Wednesdays, there are only two: Lufthansa to Frankfurt and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul. Up until just a few weeks ago, there were no flights at all on Tuesdays.

The Slovenian government has been making some efforts to have airlines resume flights to Ljubljana, and, unsurprisingly, the first two to do so will fly to the EU’s de facto capital, Brussels: Wizz Air to Brussels Charleroi (CRL) and Brussels Airlines to Brussels International (BRU).

Adria Airways was providing far more capacity to Slovenia than foreign airlines are providing now. Photo: Getty Images

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Brussels Airlines will fly to Ljubljana six times weekly

Brussels Airlines is the first airline to resume flying to Slovenia’s Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU) from Brussels. It has currently scheduled to do so on Monday 14th June.

Flights will operate year-round as follows from Monday to Friday:

• SN 3343 departing Brussels (BRU) at 15:30 and arriving in Ljubljana (LJU) at 17:15
• SN 3344 departing Ljubljana at 18:00 and arriving in Brussels at 19:55

On Sundays, flights are scheduled to operate year-round like this:

• SN 3343 departing Brussels at 18:50 and arriving in Ljubljana at 20:35
• SN 3344 departing Ljubljana at 21:15 and arriving in Brussels at 23:10

There are no flights on Saturdays, indicating that the route is strongly aimed at European Union officials that will be flying between Brussels and Slovenia for the duration of its Presidency.

All flights are scheduled to operate with Airbus A319 aircraft, and tickets are on sale well into 2022.

Wizz Air will return to Ljubljana as well this summer. Photo: Getty Images

Wizz Air to return to Ljubljana twice weekly

Meanwhile, Wizz Air also plans to return to Slovenia on Monday 14th June as follows:

• W6 2928 departing Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL) at 09:30 and arriving in Ljubljana (LJU) at 11:10
• W6 2928 departing Ljubljana at 11:40 and arriving in Brussels Charleroi at 13:20

Flights will operate on Mondays and Fridays, year-round. Tickets are currently on sale until the end of the winter schedule, March 2022.

All flights will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft.

What do you think of this news? Do you think Slovenia should establish a new national airline? Let us know in the comments.

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