Slovakia poised for low-cost airline growth, led by Ryanair

Slovakia is seeing growth in the low-cost carrier market with Ryanair expansion and Wizz Air reportedly planning to resume operations. LCCs already account for about 80% of seat capacity in Slovakia, with Norwegian Air Shuttle also operating to the small Eastern European country.

Slovakia is poised to see significant growth in aviation activity in the coming years with Ryanair stating its intention to establish a base at the country's main international airport, Bratislava Ivanka Airport.

In early Apr-2013 Ryanair announced plans to operate 16 routes from Slovakia's Bratislava Airport in summer 2013 including one new service to Trapani in Sicily, Italy. The airline expects to transport over 800,000 passengers through Bratislava in 2013 and support over 800 associated jobs.