Airport type Public/Military Hub for Wizz Air Website skp.airports.com.mk Elevation 238 m Owner TAV Airports Holding | Location Petrovec Elevation AMSL 238 m / 781 ft Code SKP Phone +389 2 314 8333 Municipality Skopje | |
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Serves Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Address Автопат „Александар Македонски“, Petrovec 1043, Macedonia (FYROM) Profiles | ||
Skopje Airport (IATA: SKP, ICAO: LWSK) (Macedonian: Аеродром Скопје, Aerodrom Skopje) or Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport (Macedonian: Аеродром „Александар Велики“ Скопје, Aerodrom "Aleksandar Veliki" Skopje), is the larger and busier of the two international airports in the Republic of Macedonia, with the other being the St. Paul the Apostle Airport in Ohrid. It is located 17 km (11 mi) southeast of the national capital Skopje in the Municipality of Petrovec.
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Early years
The first commercial flights in Skopje were introduced in 1929 when the Yugoslav carrier Aeroput introduced a route linking the city with the capital, Belgrade. A year later the route was extended to Thessaloniki in Greece, and further extended to Greek capital Athens in 1933.
In 1935 Aeroput linked Skopje with Bitola and Niš, and also operated a longer international route linking Vienna and Thessaloniki through Zagreb, Belgrade and Skopje.
After the Second World War, Aeroput was replaced by JAT Yugoslav Airlines, which linked Skopje to a number of domestic and international destinations until the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
Development since the 2000s
In December 2006, the government of the Republic of Macedonia announced plans to rename the airport after Alexander the Great, sparking a renewed diplomatic spat with Greece, because both countries consider Alexander the Great as part of their own heritage.
In 2008 the Macedonian Government signed a contract with the Turkish company Tepe Akfen Ventures (TAV) for a twenty-year-long concession during which this company would manage Macedonia's two existing airports - the Skopje Alexander the Great Airport and the St. Paul the Apostle Airport in Ohrid. In September 2011, the new terminal building, extension of the runway, new administrative building, cargo building and new access road with parking facilities were opened. The goal of the project is to increase the capacity of Skopje Airport to four million passengers per year with plans to turn Skopje Airport into a major transit and cargo hub for Southeast Europe.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Skopje:
Traffic development
The number of passengers has increased since 1990, from 312,492 passengers in that year, to 1,452,465 passengers in 2015. However, traffic was often dropped in twenty years. In 2000 the airport handled 1,005,852 passengers, but in 2001 the number of passengers dropped to 499,789. This was influenced in part by a number of airlines replacing services to Skopje with services to nearby. In 2014 Skopje airport handled 1,208,359 passengers, surpassing one million for the first time since 2000.
Ground transportation
Taxis to Skopje are available. There is also a bus service linking the airport and the city with stops at Capitol Mall, International Bus/Railway Station and Hotel Holiday Inn/City Centre.