Last month, Tivat Airport recorded a total of 161,623 passengers, marking a 33% increase compared to the same period last year, when 120,979 passengers passed through the terminal. However, this figure represents a 29% decrease from the record results achieved in September 2019.
Five years ago, numerous airlines from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus operated regular flights to Tivat. However, due to the ongoing war and sanctions, these airlines have ceased operations to Montenegro, resulting in nearly a two-thirds loss of Tivat Airport’s previous traffic volume.
In September, the airport conducted a total of 1,647 takeoff and landing operations, reflecting a 19% increase compared to September last year. Over the first nine months of this year, Tivat Airport served 989,265 passengers across 11,084 flight operations. Notably, on October 4, the airport welcomed its millionth passenger of the year, marking the first time since 2019 that Tivat surpassed the one million passenger mark in a single year.
The summer IATA flying season at Tivat Airport will conclude at the end of October, when most seasonal and charter airlines will suspend their flights. During the upcoming winter months, until the end of March next year when the new summer IATA season begins, Tivat Airport will primarily handle regular flights on two routes: to Belgrade, operated by Air Serbia and Air Montenegro, and to Istanbul, served by Air Montenegro.
Unlike last year, Turkish Airlines will not be operating flights to Tivat during the winter season. The airline had five weekly flights between Istanbul and Tivat last winter but is expected to return in April with ten weekly rotations—25% more than this year. Interestingly, although Turkish Airlines is withdrawing from the Tivat-Istanbul route this winter, Air Montenegro will not increase its limited capacity on that route, maintaining the same seven weekly flights as last year.
Turkish Airlines opted out of the year-round Tivat route after Air Montenegro insisted on strict compliance with the bilateral air traffic agreement, which allows national carriers from each country a maximum of 21 weekly rotations between Montenegro and Turkish airports. As a result, Turkish Airlines has decided to concentrate its permitted flights this winter on Podgorica and plans to return to Tivat for the next summer season.
Air Montenegro will operate seven weekly flights on the Tivat-Belgrade route, the same as last year, while its main competitor, Air Serbia, will have at least three times more rotations on that route.
Despite a preference among Israeli travelers to remain in Tivat—thanks to a special security regime in Terminal 2 and strong cooperation with the airport’s security services—the leisure subsidiary of Israel’s national airline El Al, Sundor, will switch from Tivat to Podgorica starting next month. On this route, the Israeli airline will operate twice weekly until the end of March next year.
