A regular air route between Mostar and the Croatian capital, Zagreb, will be established again in May after a three-year break, and the ambition of the city authorities, with the co-financing of the carrier, is to connect Mostar with Europe and the world through this airport, announced the mayor of Mostar on Wednesday.

"The idea is for Zagreb, as one of the more serious hubs, to be our way or door to the world. In the city budget, we allocated an amount of one million marks (about half a million euros) for that purpose," said Mayor Mario Kordić.

Recently in Mostar, representatives of the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) government and Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković discussed the re-establishment of air traffic between the centre of Herzegovina and Zagreb. The mayor of Mostar also participated in the talks.

"If an interested airline comes forward, and we expect that they will, that would specifically mean that you could leave Mostar at 6 o'clock in the morning for Zagreb, where you arrive at 7 o'clock, and then from 7:30 a.m. to 12 o'clock, which is an acceptable waiting time in Zagreb, you could catch all connecting flights such as, for example, Frankfurt, Munich, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Barcelona, etc.” explained the mayor of Mostar.

Kordić, announcing the restoration of the line, and said that a tender had been announced for the selection of an airline that would connect Zagreb and Mostar. He explained that this line should be established at the beginning of May this year, and it would run twice a week.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic in 2020, the airport in Mostar has not recovered and does not have any regular lines. During the summer, charter flights transport mainly pilgrims to the world-famous Catholic pilgrimage site of Medjugorje.

In the first two months of this year, only 35 passengers passed through this airport, and local media pointed out that this number has not yet exceeded the number of 60 employees.