Croatia Airlines: EX-YU flag carriers handle 6.78 million passengers

The three remaining flag carriers of the former Yugoslavia - Air Serbia, Croatia Airlines and Air Montenegro - handled a combined total of 6.78 million passengers in 2024, up from 6.4 million the year before. Air Serbia remains the largest of the three, welcoming 4.44 million customers on board its aircraft. Its passenger traffic rose 6% on the previous year, while the number of operated flights stood at 47.022, an improvement of 4%. While the average passenger load factor hasn't been disclosed, it is estimated to be between 78% and 80%., based on available seat capacity during the year. In 2023, Air Serbia had already surpassed its pre-Covid passenger numbers, and its 2024 figures represented a 58% increase over pre-pandemic levels. For the current year, Air Serbia aims to increase its passenger count by 6% to 4.7 million.Croatia Airlines welcomed 1.838.609 passengers in 2024, representing an increase of 6.1% on the year before. However, the figure is still down 15.2% on the pre-pandemic 2019. The airline's average annual cabin load factor stood at 65.1%, slightly down on the 65.3% load the year before. In 2019, its average cabin occupancy rate stood at 73.5%. Croatia Airlines increased its number of flights by 1.8% year-on-year to 26.438. While the airline has not provided projections for its 2025 passenger numbers, it plans to boost its capacity by 16% during the summer season, when it serves most of its travellers.Air Montenegro uplifted 498.800 travellers in 2024, representing an increase of approximately 4% on the previous year. During the 2024 summer season, it introduced seasonal operations from Podgorica to Ostrava, as well as from Tivat to Baku and Izmir. However, the carrier cancelled its planned charter operations to Israel which generated a notable volume of passengers. Air Montenegro is still some way off from reaching the traffic volumes of the country's former flag carrier Montenegro Airlines, which in 2019 handled 657.000. travellers.EX-YU Aviation News