Skopje (airport)

The early years

The airfield was opened in 1928, and in 1929 the airline " Aeroput " organized a permanent flight connection with Belgrade ^[3] . A year later, flights began to Thessaloniki , since 1933 flights were made to Athens ^[3] . In 1935, the Aeroput company connected Skopje with Bitola and Nis , and also opened an international route connecting Vienna and Thessaloniki via Zagreb, Belgrade and Skopje ^[3] . In the post-war years, JAT Yugoslav Airlines took over flights from Skopje, connecting Skopje with many other cities. Skopje airfield was also used by the air forces of the SFRY .

2000s

In December 2006, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia proposed to name the airport in honor of Alexander the Great, which caused a diplomatic scandal with Greece ^{[4] [5]} . In 2008, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia signed a 20-year contract with the Turkish company Tepe Akfen Ventures (TAV) for servicing both North Macedonian airports in Skopje and Ohrid. In September 2011, a new terminal, an expanded runway, a new office building, a new warehouse and a road to a parking lot were opened at Skopje Airport ^[6] .

At the beginning of 2018, as part of the settlement of relations with Greece, it was renamed “Skopje International Airport”.

Scheduled and charter flights to and from Skopje are carried out by the following companies: ^[7]

Transportation

In 1990, the passenger flow amounted to 312,492 people, by 2015 it had grown to 1452465 people. Nevertheless, there were unexpected decreases in passenger traffic: for example, in 2001 it fell about two times from 1,005,852 people to 499,789 ^[12] . In 2014, passenger traffic for the first time since 2000 exceeded 1 million people (1,208,359 people).

Most common flights

Leading carriers

You can get from the airport to Skopje by taxi or bus (stops in the city center at the Holiday Inn, at the train station and at the Capitol Mall).

• On July 24, 1992, the An-12BK plane of the Russian Volga-Dnepr airline crashed, crashed into a mountain near the village of Lisets. Trying to avoid entering the thunderstorm front, the crew changed course, heading towards the mountainous region, but the pilots could not determine their location relative to the airport, since it was impossible to use on-board radio rangefinder equipment ^[13] . All 8 people on board died ^[14] .
• On March 5, 1993, the Fokker 100 , flying from Skopje to Zurich, crashed a few seconds after takeoff . The investigation found that the cause was a crew error - they did not conduct anti-icing treatments . Of the 97 people on board, only 14 survived ^[15] .
• On January 12, 2008, a Mi-17 helicopter of the Air Force of the Republic of Macedonia crashed from Mostar Airport. He crashed into a mountain near Katlanovsky Blato with heavy fog and caught fire. Killed all 11 people on board ^[16] .
• On February 13, 2009, Austrian Airlines' Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 , following the OS780 flight to Vienna, was unable to remove the landing gear after takeoff and made an emergency landing at the same Skopjevsky Airport ^{[17] [18] [19]} .
• On the same day, another MALÉV Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft, flying on flight 440 from Budapest to Skopje, made an emergency landing. At 16:05 CET, the pilot reported a problem in the right engine, but managed to land the plane. None of the 64 passengers were injured ^{[19] [20] [21]} .
• On November 14, 2011, a SOCATA TBM plane flying from the Dutch airport Maastricht-Aachen , touched several trees and made a hard landing on the grass. None of the five people on board were injured, but the plane received serious damage and was sent for repair ^[22] .
• On February 11, 2012, the Boeing 737-55S , flying on flight 848 from Prague, made an emergency landing after reports of smoke coming from the aircraft. Urgent fire crews and ambulances arrived at the landing site, but none of the passengers or crew members were injured. The plane received minor damage ^[23] .
• On September 6, 2016, a Piper PA-34-200T Seneca II plane flying to Skopje crashed near the town of Vetresko in the Veles community. All 6 people on board died ^[24] .

• List of airports in Northern Macedonia

• skp.airports.com.mk - the official website of Skopje Airport
• Incident History for SKP Airport on Aviation Safety Network
• Current weather for LWSK at NOAA / NWS