Limak Kosovo Airport predicts 1.8 million passengers in 2016 following an ongoing trend of significant traffic growth. Haldun Firat Köktürk, Board Member & CEO, explains to Marta Dimitrova that the airport is “moving ahead” in the aviation business with its infrastructure developments, successful routes strategy, and dedicated community involvement.
On 17 February 2008, Kosovo’s Parliament declared independence from Serbia, marking a pivotal point in the history of the Republic of Kosovo. Just a few years after Kosovo’s independence, the results of the country’s rapid development were already evident. In 2013, Limak Kosovo under the consortium ‘Limak & Aéroports de Lyon” constructed a new terminal at Prishtina International Airport Adem Jashari, expanding its floorspace from 27,000sqm to 42,000sqm.
“Now, Limak Kosovo International Airport JSC is moving ahead in the aviation industry,” explains Haldun Firat Köktürk, Board Member & CEO, Limak Kosovo International Airport JSC.
Kosovo, Europe’s newest country, is showing an ongoing trend of traffic growth and compared to last year when passenger numbers grew by 10% to over 1.5 million in 2015, this year the airport marks 11.1% growth and forecasts 1.8 million passengers.
Haldun Firat Köktürk, Board Member & CEO, Limak Kosovo International Airport JSC: “We have achieved significant double-digit growth in passenger numbers. We are willing to increase flight numbers and extend our network with additional routes, and we are using our incentive plan to attract airlines in order to catch this growth at a sustainable level. We are expecting a very successful next year, especially if visa liberalisation happens in Kosovo.”
The airport offers incentives for the development of new air services. “When it comes to combined incentive products for launching new routes or adding new frequencies, the discount offered goes to around 30% of the total charges applied,” Köktürk says.
Recent new routes include easyJet to both Paris CDG and Berlin Schönefeld, Germania to Bergamo, and Adria Airways to London Luton. “There is huge potential in some other routes and we are cooperating with different airlines to attract them for opening new services,” Köktürk comments.
The airport’s route development strategy has two main focuses. “The first way we are working on is to have additional air services to destinations which are not served to desired levels to meet demand in the respective catchment areas,” Köktürk adds. “By this we will have an increase in flights to existing destinations and more travel options for our passengers.”
Secondly, the airport is focusing on opening new services to destinations not directly served from Prishtina. “Both strategies are having a positive impact in covering more of the countries and catchment areas where our diaspora is located, and will generate additional passengers visiting Kosovo either for leisure or business.”
Next on Kosovo’s long list of targeted destinations are New York, Helsinki, Dortmund, Memmingen, Milan, Amsterdam, Rome, and Malmö.
€30m airside investment
Limak Kosovo is planning to extend its current 2,560m runway to 3,000m. Due to the airport’s location and the foggy weather in winter, it often experiences visibility problems which results in the diversion of many flights. “Furthermore, we need to invest in the ILS (instrument landing system) and replace some of the equipment with the newest technology,” Köktürk says. “The total investment is estimated to be around €30 million, including extension of the runway and taxiways, and purchase of new equipment.”
In addition, Limak Kosovo has made significant improvements within the company. “One of the most important goals was to develop our human resources and we have managed to achieve this by training and constantly refreshing the staff, thus creating a dynamic environment of work and increasing efficiency,” Köktürk notes. “As a result, we have received numerous appreciation letters from airlines for our performance and also many awards from different international institutions. Our services have been improved and we have also been certified by ISO, which shows our dedication to providing better services for passengers.”
The airport is also addressing one of Kosovo’s main social issues – unemployment. The Limak Airport Services Institute started two years ago and every year 30 students are selected from different faculties of the University of Prishtina. Currently, 45 students from the first and second cohort are working at the airport in different departments. “We are addressing the unemployment issue of Kosovo and it’s a good model to train our own employees and plan the HR. We have achieved several goals and now we have a very young and dynamic team from this source,” Köktürk adds.
Over the past year, the airport has received 15 awards, mainly for its corporate social responsibility and sustainability. It has also received several awards for the environmental studies carried out around the airport. For instance, its established modern water supply system is also used to supply potable water to several villages around the airport since they have a lack of water supply from the municipality level. In addition to this, the airport has been granted several CSR awards – predominantly through the Limak Airport Services Institute – for its employment contribution, and for providing education to the younger generation, such as the IPRA Golden World Awards, Stevie Awards, Hermes Creative Awards, and Golden Apple Awards for environmental contributions. “It is important for us to be awarded for our environmental studies because we have mostly focused on two issues – sustainability and HR planning,” Köktürk says. “It’s good to know that we have been recognised as a successful company to address these issues.”
The runway currently in use at Prishtina International Airport is 2,560m long and the airport is planning to extend it up to 3,000m. The total investment is estimated to be around €30 million, including extension of the runway and taxiways, and the purchase of new equipment.
Prishtina International Airport is accredited at Level 1 Mapping of ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation and, looking ahead, Köktürk emphasises that it is crucially important for the airport to upgrade to Level 2 Reduction. The airport is also looking forward to starting the third generation Limak Airport Services Institute project.
“We have achieved significant double-digit growth in passenger numbers. We are willing to increase flight numbers and extend our network with additional routes, and we are using our incentive plan to attract airlines in order to catch this growth at a sustainable level. We are expecting a very successful next year, especially if visa liberalisation happens in Kosovo,” Köktürk concludes.
