The President of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc Musar, has said the sale of Adria Airways to turnaround fund 4K Invest in 2016, which ultimately led to the carrier’s bankruptcy three years later, was her country’s “biggest mistake”. The comments were made during a state visit to Qatar, during which Ms Pirc Musar lobbied for the introduction of flights between Doha and Ljubljana. The President noted, “I must be brutally honest with you here. You know, it was the biggest mistake of my country to sell the national air carrier and then we lost it. It went bankrupt. For a small country to have a national air carrier, it’s really, really very important. And now, as a President and as the government representatives who are here with me, we are trying to persuade our partner countries to have direct flights to Ljubljana. And I will whisper this to the ears of the Emir. So, I hope he’s going to, you know, fulfill my wish to come true”.
Speaking in Qatar, Ms Pirc Musar also noted, “As you know, Slovenia is keen to establish a direct air connection with Qatar operated by Qatar Airways. Such a route would significantly boost tourism, facilitate business travel and strengthen economic cooperation between our two countries. Building on this improved connectivity and to advance cooperation in areas of common interest, we are also keen to explore the possibility of developing Maribor Airport. Maribor is the second largest Slovenian city. As a state-owned and managed airport, it offers stability and alignment with national development goals. Slovenia is seeking a reliable strategic partner to transform the airport into a modern regional hub for passengers, cargo, logistics, maintenance and business aviation, shaping it as a true gateway to Central and Eastern Europe”.
Slovenia has been attempting to secure Qatar Airways flights for several years. The airline had previously expressed interest in serving Ljubljana. Prior to the pandemic, the carrier’s former CEO of 27 years, Akbar Al Baker, said, “Ljubljana is being looked at. We have many destinations we plan to operate with our narrow-bodies”. The Qatari carrier is currently in the midst of a narrow-body fleet shortage, following a feud with Airbus which saw its deliveries cancelled by the manufacturer. Although the disagreements have since been resolved and the order reinstated, the arrival of the aircraft has been delayed. The airline has only recently begun taking delivery of Airbus A321neo aircraft, which will replace its A320 fleet, however, the first of several A321s were initially destined for low cost carrier AirAsia and operate in a dense all-economy cabin configuration on several select routes.