Air Baltic's inaugural flight between Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Gran Canaria landed on October 27th without any fanfare, without dignitaries, and above all, without headlines. A brief statement from the Slovenian airport and an official image were all that was needed to announce the new weekly connection, which will operate until April 2026. A completely understated launch, which under other circumstances would have been considered a strategic move to diversify markets amidst the slowdown in Nordic and German passenger traffic. The Deputy Minister of Transport was present at the launch.
The flight, spurred by state incentives from the Slovenian government as part of its program to strengthen air connectivity, represents the first regular direct connection between Ljubljana and Gran Canaria. However, its arrival has gone virtually unnoticed on the island, in contrast to the promotion other European destinations give to each new route, aware of the economic and reputational value of attracting an airline like Air Baltic, considered a solid operator in the Baltic and Central European corridor. For example, consider a route with EasyJet to France, even though that airline has no tax base in Gran Canaria.
Andrej Rajh told the media that "the establishment of the Gran Canaria-Ljubljana-Gran Canaria route is also the result of the eighth public tender for airport tax subsidies at Ljubljana Airport. The Ministry of Infrastructure is implementing these tenders as one of the key measures to strengthen Slovenia's air connectivity, which continues to improve."
AirBaltic has launched a new weekly direct service between Ljubljana Airport and Gran Canaria, Spain, running until March 27, 2026. The route will operate on Fridays with the Airbus A220-300. Mantas Vrubliauskas, Vice President of Network Management at airBaltic, said: “We are excited to launch direct flights from Ljubljana to Gran Canaria, one of the few non-stop warm-weather holiday options available from Slovenia this coming winter. This route fills a clear gap in the market, offering Slovenian travelers an easy and comfortable escape to the Canary Islands.” Gran Canaria will become airBaltic’s second destination from Ljubljana Airport, joining the existing service to Riga and providing seamless connections to the Baltic and Nordic countries and beyond.
The low profile of the launch is even more striking in a context where international air capacity to Gran Canaria is projected to grow by only 3% this winter, according to forecasts for the 2025-2026 season. Promotur, however, points to forecasts of sharp declines from Germany (-5,7%), Sweden (-15,6%), Denmark (-15,2%), and Finland (-17,1%), markets traditionally loyal to southern Gran Canaria. In total, Gran Canaria Airport will have 2,1 million international seats, but will lose connectivity with its main historical customer: the Central European long-stay traveler with high average spending. Therefore, "the opening of routes such as Air Baltic's from Ljubljana, or the new smaller connections from Vienna and Prague, could help to partially mitigate the loss of German-Nordic traffic," hotel sources indicate.
However, the Canary Islands have not announced a specific plan to take advantage of these routes, nor is there yet a promotional strategy aimed at attracting travelers from Slovenia, Slovakia or the Balkans, regions where tourism to the Canary Islands is beginning to emerge thanks to the pull effect of Baltic and Central European airlines.
Air Baltic, which carried more than 4,5 million passengers in 2024 and has strengthened its network with routes to the Mediterranean, has added Gran Canaria to its new winter destinations, alongside Nice, Marseille, and Dubrovnik. In Ljubljana, the news was met with optimism: the airport, operated by the Fraport Group, closed 2024 with a 13,3% increase in passenger traffic, and the route to the Canary Islands is part of its strategy to attract long-haul holiday tourism. In Gran Canaria, however, the launch went largely unnoticed. "It's a missed opportunity for visibility," lamented sources in the hotel sector of southern Gran Canaria, who pointed out that other destinations with less legal uncertainty treat each new connection as an act of promotion and gratitude. At a time when airline capacity data shows that the island could lose more than 87.000 seats compared to the previous winter, each new flight should be seen as a small victory. But at Gando airport, Air Baltic's debut was treated as just another formality.
