November 15 (SeeNews) - The management board of the Compensation Fund of Bosnia's Serb Republic decided to provide 500,000 marka ($292,700/255,600 euro) in Covid-19 relief to airport operator Aerodromi Republike Srpske [BANJ:AERD-R-A], the entity's government said.
The financial assistance is expected to help the company weather the financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus-induced decline in air traffic at Banja Luka airport, the government of the Serb Republic said in a statement on Friday.
The Serb Republic created the Compensation Fund in May 2020 to support the health sector and businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Banja Luka airport served 43,904 passengers in 2020, down from 149,996 in 2019, Bosnia's Civil Aviation Directorate data showed.
The Serb Republic is one of two autonomous entities that make up Bosnia and Herzegovina. The other one is the Federation.
The Banja Luka airport is the only international airport operating in the Serb Republic. Bosnia has three other international airports - in Sarajevo, Tuzla and Mostar.
(1 euro = 1.95583 marka)