MAT Macedonian Airlines (Skopje) will be succeeded by a new national carrier after the Macedonian government last week announced plans to identify a suitable foreign partner. Macedonia has had to rely on international operators since MAT's demise in 2009.
“In collaboration with a consultancy firm, which will handle the process, the first step will be to survey the market and test the interest of world famous companies to set up base in Macedonia,” EX-YU Aviation News quoted Macedonia's Minister for Transport and Communication, Mile Janakieski, as saying. “It is necessary for the government to list all it can offer to a foreign partner, including subsidies. Once the analysis is completed and the conditions are set, we will offer them to several well established airlines.”
Struggling MAT collapsed in 2009 after a planned tie-up with Serbia's then national carrier, Jat Airways (Belgrade Nikola Tesla), failed to materialize. In 2010, the airline was succeeded by the doomed Mat Airways (Skopje), a joint venture between Serbian firms, Kon Tiki Travel and the Metropolitan Investment Group, and Macedonian charter specialist, Skywings International (Skopje), which collapsed in mid-2011.
