October 23 (SeeNews) - Bosnia's Federation government approved a plan to extend financial assistance to Sarajevo International Airport to help it continue doing business and keep jobs amid the coronavirus crisis.
The Federation finance ministry needs to prepare a revision of the entity's budget that would allow the government to grant financial aid to the airport operator, the entity government said in a press release on Thursday.
In May, the number of landings and take-offs at Sarajevo airport decreased by an annual 81%, while total revenue fell 93% year-on-year. This could lead to a decline in passenger numbers by some 65% in full year 2020, as well as a drop in revenue by 67% compared to 2019, according to the government.
In the first five months of 2020, the airport operator generated a loss of some 5 million marka. It is expected to finish this year with a loss of some 13.3 million marka ($8.1 million/6.8 million euro), before swinging to profit in two to three years.
The Federation is one of two autonomous entities that form Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is the Serb Republic.
(1 euro = 1.95583 marka)