Commercial airports across the former Yugoslavia handled a combined total of 2.030.878 passengers during the first month of the year. Belgrade and Pristina managed to rank within Europe’s top 100 busiest, taking 65th and 92nd place, respectively. Compared to the same month last year, Belgrade maintained the same position, while Pristina was one below.
In January, Belgrade Airport ranked just behind Marseille, Catania and Sofia but ahead of Malta, Bristol and Fuerteventura. Pristina was preceded by Katowice, Nantes and Bordeaux but in front of Funchal, Gothenburg and Vilnius. Zagreb positioned itself as the 101st busiest, behind Wroclaw, Luxembourg and Faro but ahead of Newcastle, Pisa and Trondheim. Skopje took 105th place, improving its rank by thirteen positions on the back of strong growth. It was ahead of the likes of Stavanger, Verona and Hanover.
Passenger performance by airport, January 2026
Five airports across the former Yugoslavia saw their passenger numbers decline in January compared to last year. The largest among them, and the only capital city airport, is Podgorica, which handled 84.121 travellers, down 1.1%. This is despite capacity levels above last year’s levels. The decline was primarily the result of Turkish Airlines, which had 32 fewer operations this January compared to last. Podgorica Airport, which saw its overall passenger figures decline in 2025, is on course for a record 2026 as Wizz Air prepares to station two aircraft in the city and launch seventeen new routes this year. Tivat Airport also saw fewer passengers, handling 16.202 travellers, down 4.5% on the back of a 6.5% decline in capacity. The main culprit was Air Montenegro, which reduced its Istanbul flights.
European rank of select regional airports by passenger numbers
Istanbul’s main gateway was Europe’s busiest airport during the first month of the year with 6.869.667 passengers, while London Heathrow was second with 6.463.625 travellers. The pair saw growth of 6.4% and 2.2% on 2025 respectively. They were followed by Madrid which overtook Paris Charles de Gaulle with 5.372.803 and 5.367.308 passengers respectively, then Amsterdam with 4.365.420 travellers, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen with 4.191.530, Frankfurt with 4.132.165, Barcelona with 3.801.522, Rome Fiumicino with 3.277.626, and Munich with 2.680.544 passengers. Out of Europe’s top ten busiest, three are still below their pre-pandemic 2019 records. They include Amsterdam (-12.8%), Frankfurt (-11.2%) and Munich (-13.4%).
