This spring, citizens of Montenegro will likely have to first travel to Tirana, then take a flight from there to European destinations, as there are fewer and fewer budget flight options from Podgorica to Europe. In recent years, Podgorica has become increasingly disconnected from European air travel. The number of destinations served by low-cost airlines from Podgorica is dwindling.
To illustrate the extent of Podgorica’s poor connectivity to Europe by low-cost carriers, it’s worth mentioning that Ryanair operates flights from Tirana to 26 cities, while Wizzair flies to over 50 European destinations from the Albanian capital.
Ryanair has discontinued flights from Podgorica to Bologna, Barcelona, and Zagreb. Currently, Ryanair only operates flights to six European cities from Podgorica, and only five of those routes are available seasonally from April to October.
Wizzair now flies from Podgorica to just eight cities. The low-cost route to Rome has been canceled, which was one of the most important connections from Podgorica.
Tirana has, in contrast, become a regional leader in this regard. Many citizens of Montenegro now fly from Tirana, even though they have to travel several hours to reach the airport. Furthermore, more transport services are emerging to take passengers to Tirana’s airport, with a one-way fare costing around 30 euros. When calculating the cost of travel, it’s cheaper to pay for a flight than for transportation to and from the Tirana airport.
This situation clearly shows how important it would be for Podgorica to regain at least the old low-cost routes that once connected the city to various European destinations.
