Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob has authorised the Ministry of Infrastructure to continue studies into the establishment of a new flag carrier.
However, according to the Nova24 broadcaster, Minister of Finance Klemen Boštjančič has warned that any such project could only launch as a private-public partnership, as the state does not have the funds to finance it alone. Boštjančič was the chief executive of defunct national carrier Adria Airways (Ljubljana) between December 2011 and December 2012.
"There is no doubt that Slovenia's connectivity is poor, this must be changed. But this can be done in several ways," the minister said.
Golob had also said earlier that he would prefer to see external investors for the new airline.
On the other hand, Minister of Infrastructure Alenka Bratušek continues to advocate for the launch of the airline, tentatively named Air Slovenia (Ljubljana). She secured the PM's nod to proceed with studies, although no firm plans have been outlined yet regarding the carrier's financing, corporate structure, or business model. Preliminary studies have shown the launch of a new airline would cost up to EUR100 million euros (USD109.1 million). Although Bratušek admitted that the airline would initially be loss-making, Grant Thornton research has shown the country lost up to EUR250 million (USD272.8 million) by not having a locally-based airline, she said.
Slovenia has not had a flag carrier since privatised Adria Airways collapsed in September 2019. Bratušek was also a Minister of Infrastructure then (with a gap between 2020 and early 2023).
