Twice-weekly charter flights between Portorož Airport and Rome, Catania and Salerno will be launched on 1 May in a bid to bring tourists from southern Italy to the Slovenian coastal resort.
A Minoan Air 50-seater turboprop will operate the routes Thursdays and Sundays throughout the year, with return tickets costing between 230 and 300 euros, the organisers told the press on Tuesday.
The project is backed by Italian association CTM Travelair, which plans to bankroll it with EUR 3.7m per year over the next five years.
"So far tourists have come only from north Italy while the south knows Portorož poorly," said Antonio Gervasio, a representative of CMT Travelair.
The company expects it could start operating 100-seater aircraft in the future, but this would require extending the runway, a project that has been in the making for years but has been stalled due to the protected natural reserve nearby.
Robert Kranjec, the director of airport operator Aerodrom Portorož, hopes the government will "speed up all procedures".
Bojan Babič, state secretary at the Infrastructure Ministry, said a new zoning plan was in the making and would "facilitate the long-term development ambitions of Portorož Airport".
Source: TheSlvoeniaTimes
