"Alexander the Great" wins ACI's airport quality award

Skopje-based "Alexander the Great" airport has won the 2012 award for best airport in Europe in the category up to two million passengers annually. "Alexander the Great" is recognised out of 275 airports in the Best Airport by Size category by the Airports Council International (ACI).

The award is presented based on interviews with passengers about the quality of airport services.

Murat Ornekol - Operations Director of TAV Airports Holding, the concessioner of the two Macedonian airports - told a press conference on Wednesday that the company "is honored by this prestigious accolade for the Skopje airport." "It was rebuilt and started providing services in a very short time owning to our knowledge and experience."

Ornekol added that TAV's objective for 2013 was to increase the number of passengers using the Skopje airport up to one million.

Figures show that 906.871 passengers travelled through "Alexander the Great" in 2012. Between 2009 and 2012, the number of passengers handled by the Skopje airport increased by 17.5%. At the moment, there are direct flights to 20 destinations, thus "Skopje is being connected with most of Europe and via Istanbul to any other place worldwide."

Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski said that the accolade for airport service quality "comes as a result of the project for the reconstruction and modernisation of the Macedonian airports by being taken over by TAV company."

"After completing the new airport, new standards in airport services in Macedonia have been introduced, which is now being recognised with this award," Janakieski stated adding that measures were being taken in cooperation with the concessioner to attract new airlines and to increase the number of flights in a bid to bolster the number of passengers up to one million.

Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska said that "Alexander the Great" after being constructed and modernized nowadays represented a facility "that each and everyone of us can be proud of."

"Professionally, all MoI staff have made utmost efforts to provide efficient services and simple procedures to the passengers," she added.

The ACI award is considered one of the most prestigious accolades in the industry.

Macedonia Supporting Low Cost Airlines

Macedonian Government has decided to grant EUR 1,4 million in subventions to low-cost airlines and to that effect a procedure for amending the law on air traffic is already opened, Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakievski said Monday.
The aim is to attract more airlines to use the airports in Skopje and Ohrid, which are expected to introduce new destinations and cut the ticket prices, Janakieski said at the press conference on what his ministry has done for the 100 days since the making up of the new Government.
The ministry worked on realizing the program that won the trust of the electorate, namely resuming the reforms for better infrastructure, safe transport, inflow of new investments and higher living standard for the citizens of Macedonia, Janakieski said.
Listing the completed projects, he mentioned the reconstructed Skopje Airport 'Alexander the Great' - an EUR 100 million - investment of the Turkish 'TAV', construction of the highway 7,6 km-long section Tabanovce - Kumanovo - EUR 15,5 million, legalization of illegal buildings, procurement of new low-floor and double decker buses...

Skopje's new Airport Terminal Near Completion

The grand opening of Skopje's new world class passenger terminal, part of Alexander The Great Airport is slated for September 8, Macedonian Independence Day.
At a cost of €110 million the new terminal will be ten times bigger than the existing building and will allow for long-awaited improvements to passenger travel.
The terminal will feature six air bridges, 23 check-in desks and 15 passport control counters, stretching over more than 40,000 square metres. TAV says that they have completed more than 80 per cent of the construction of the building.
Work has also been done on the runway, which is being extended from 2.5 to 3.1 kilometres to ease the landing of larger aircraft. A new cargo terminal and road access to the airport and parking area are also being constructed.
“My vision for the airport is to make it the regional hub,” TAV Macedonia's director, Murat Ornekol, told News 24 TV recently. The management hopes to increase the annual number of passengers from slightly over half a million today to 3.5 million a year.
“In the past, many passengers headed to airports in neighbouring countries. Our goal is to attract those passengers back. And believe me the new terminal building has the capacity to accommodate this number,” Ornekol said.
Since TAV's entry, the airport has seen solid growth.  In the first half of 2011, the number of passengers increased by nearly 10 per cent. It has also welcomed new budget airlines like WizzAir, Air Berlin, XL Airways and soon the Turkish low budget carrier, Pegasus Airlines.

Turkish Airlines and other companies who already operate in Skopje are also expected to increase their number of flights.
TAV started construction work at the airport in mid-2010. The government chose the company to reconstruct and manage Macedonia's airports in 2008.
 Last year TAV finished reconstruction of the country’s second civil airport in the tourist town of Ohrid. TAV recently boasted that in only one year they increased the number of passengers there by a staggering 60 per cent.