Montenegro’s government has revoked Pegasus Airlines’ license to operate flights between Istanbul Sabiha Gökken Airport and Podgorica, preventing the low-cost airline from introducing flights to Tivat from Turkey’s largest city. This decision was taken in response to the impact that Pegasus Airlines’ presence on the route had on Montenegrin Airlines’ performance. Pegasus Airlines, which began operating flights between Istanbul and Podgorica in July last year, will be forced to suspend operations on the route starting next week. The last flight is scheduled for Monday, April 15th. Air Montenegro and Turkish Airlines both maintain services between Istanbul’s main airport and Podgorica. Pegasus also operates flights from Ankara and Izmir to the Montenegrin capital, which are not affected. It maintained daily flights between Istanbul and Podgorica using a combination of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft.
Pegasus Airlines began flying to Montenegro last summer after the Montenegrin government relaxed the strict bilateral air service agreement between the two countries, which had previously allowed only each country’s flag carrier to operate. was completed. Commenting on the restrictions imposed on Pegasus Airlines, Tihomir Dragash, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Montenegrin Airlines, said: [Montenegrin] The Ministry of Capital Investment signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Turkey’s aviation authority, creating the so-called open skies policy between the two countries. This memorandum is completely illegal and has not been approved by the government. Currently, the number of flights is limited and Pegasus Airlines will no longer be able to operate flights between Istanbul and Podgorica from April 15th. ”
Dragaš pointed out that Pegasus’ Istanbul-Podgorica operation subsequently cost Montenegrin Airlines millions of euros in losses. Under the memorandum, Pegasus was obligated to pay Montenegrin Airlines 10 euros for each passenger carried on its routes, but Dragaš said Montenegrin Airlines would have made more money if it had carried those passengers. He claimed to be deaf. In addition, the Chairman of the Board stated that due to the poor performance of the Istanbul route, the number of passengers of Montenegrin Airlines decreased by about 4% in the first quarter of this year compared to 2023, to 54,500. This summer, Turkey and Montenegro are her second largest country market after Serbia based on available capacity. Montenegrin Airlines flies to Istanbul from both Podgorica and Tivat, and earlier this month launched a new service between Tivat and Izmir three times a week.
