Ryanair’s chief commercial officer told “N” this week that the low-cost carrier chose the Bergamo airport in Italy as a regional hub after the awkward handling, as he said, of the runway maintenance project at Thessaloniki’s Macedonia Airport.
By F. Zois
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Ryanair’s chief commercial officer told “N” this week that the low-cost carrier chose the Bergamo airport in Italy as a regional hub after the awkward handling, as he said, of the runway maintenance project at Thessaloniki’s Macedonia Airport.
The debacle with maintenance works at the northern Greece airport occurred prior to the transfer of the airport’s management to Fraport Greece, along with another 13 regional airports around the country. At the time, the still state-run management of the airport announced maintenance works in the middle of the peak summer season.
David O’Brien added that the “ideal scenario” now for Macedonia Airport would be its “weaning” from dependence on the Athens international airport and an expansion based on direct flights to other international destinations. The goal, as he said, would be to turn Thessaloniki into a SE European regional hub.
By comparison, the second airport servicing Brussels features 90 international routes while Thessaloniki has only managed to reach 51.
O’Brien said, however, that if Fraport chooses a different growth model then Ryanair will merely increase flights on the Athens-Thessaloniki route and use the former as a feeder.
The Ryanair executive said talks began with Fraport Greece’s management last week, whereas the cooperation between the Irish carrier and the parent company in Germany is strong, with 24 new Ryanair destinations from Frankfurt announced recently.
O’Brien said his company is awaiting more information from Fraport Greece and especially if the German-Greek consortium is considering a reduction in airport fees and rates – a standing demand by Ryanair.