Bratislava Airport Sets an All-Time Record
M. R. Štefánik Airport has closed 2025 as the most successful year in its history! Over the course of the year, the airport handled a record 2,438,215 passengers on arrivals and departures – the highest annual figure since its establishment. Compared to 2024, this represents an increase of 25%, or more than 490,000 additional passengers.
“I would like to thank our airline partners for continuously expanding their route networks from Bratislava, as well as our passengers for their confidence in choosing direct flights from our airport. In 2025, Bratislava Airport achieved an all-time passenger record, and in 2026 we expect to surpass this figure even more significantly, reaching over four million handled passengers. Over the past year, we recorded historical monthly passenger records for eight consecutive months, driven primarily by the largest number of newly launched scheduled routes in our history — 28 in total,“ said Dušan Novota, CEO and Chairman of the Board of M. R. Štefánik Airport.
RECORD NUMBER OF NEW SCHEDULED ROUTES – 28
Of the record 28 new scheduled routes launched in 2025, Wizz Air introduced 14 new connections, Ryanair added 12 new routes, while Norwegian (Copenhagen) and Arkia Israeli Airlines (Tel Aviv) each launched one new route from Bratislava.
KEY MILESTONES OF 2025 – WIZZ AIR BASE OPENING, LAUNCH OF A DOMESTIC ROUTE TO KOŠICE, RYANAIR BASE EXPANSION
The most significant operational milestone of 2025 was the opening of Wizz Air’s base at Bratislava Airport on 14 November, marking a major expansion of the airline’s presence. Wizz Air increased its network from two routes to 16 routes in 2025 and plans to add a further 14 new routes in 2026, bringing its total to 30 scheduled routes. The airline will operate its Bratislava base with four Airbus A321neo aircraft. In addition, Wizz Air launched a new domestic scheduled service between Bratislava and Košice on 21 November, operating nine times per week. After ten years of operating a base at Bratislava Airport with two based aircraft, Ryanair further strengthened its presence in October 2025 by stationing a third aircraft, enabling the launch of several additional routes from Bratislava.
TOP ROUTES
Among Bratislava’s most popular air routes in terms of passenger numbers last year, London and the Turkish resort of Antalya dominated. Each of these destinations recorded more than 200,000 passengers travelling to and from Bratislava, followed by routes to Hurghada, Milan, and Manchester. During the summer season, passengers departing from Bratislava could choose from 39 scheduled routes and 43 charter services. In the winter season 2025/2026, the airport recorded a new high with 49 scheduled routes and 10 charter flights to exotic holiday destinations.
TOP SCHEDULED ROUTES
In 2025, the most popular scheduled services, available for individual ticket purchase, included flights to and from London (Luton and Stansted airports), Milan (Bergamo and Malpensa airports), Manchester, Malta, and Dublin.
TOP CHARTER ROUTES
Throughout the year, clients of tour operators most frequently chose charter flights from Bratislava to Antalya, Hurghada, Larnaca in Cyprus, Monastir in Tunisia, Marsa Matruh, and Salalah in Oman. The Egyptian destination Marsa Matruh emerged as the breakout destination of the season, climbing into the top five charter destinations compared to the previous year, while the popularity rankings of the other leading destinations remained unchanged.
TOP MONTH AND PEAK DAY
July was the strongest month of 2025, with a total of 358,898 passengers handled on arrivals and departures. The year’s busiest day was 22 July, when airport staff handled 12,971 departing and arriving passengers.
TOP AIRLINE
The largest airline at Bratislava Airport in 2025, measured by the number of handled passengers, remained the Irish carrier Ryanair. It was followed by Smartwings, Wizz Air, and scheduled carrier Pegasus Airlines, which operates flights to Istanbul and Antalya.
TWO NEW AIRLINE PARTNERS
After an eleven-year hiatus, Bratislava Airport renewed its cooperation with Scandinavian carrier Norwegian, which operated new scheduled flights between Bratislava and Copenhagen from 28 June to 19 August 2025. Additionally, Arkia Israeli Airlines operated new direct scheduled flights from Tel Aviv during the summer season.
29,000 AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS RECORDED IN 2025
In 2025, a total of 29,002 aircraft movements were recorded at Bratislava Airport. This figure includes all types of aircraft operations - scheduled and charter flights, private flights, training flights, government and state flights, rescue operations, flights operated by aviation schools, and other aircraft movements. The result represents a 3% increase compared to 2024, when 28,098 take-offs and landings were recorded at BTS.
AIR CARGO TRANSPORT GROWS BY UP TO 70 %
In the air cargo segment, Bratislava Airport handled a total of 18,929 tonnes of cargo, representing a year-on-year increase of up to 70% compared to the previous year, when 11,136 tonnes were handled. The largest cargo carrier operating at the airport is European Air Transport Leipzig, which operates cargo flights for DHL. The growth was driven primarily by the deployment of larger aircraft types by European Air Transport Leipzig, as well as by an increase in irregular ad-hoc cargo flights.
CONTINUED LONG-HAUL EXOTIC FLIGHTS OPERATED BY CODE E AIRCRAFT
During the winter season, passengers could take advantage of long-haul flights to exotic destinations operated by Code E aircraft, including the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with a capacity of 355 seats and the Airbus A330 with a capacity of 285 seats. Departures operated from Bratislava to destinations such as Phuket (Thailand), Mauritius, the Dominican Republic, and Vietnam, as well as — using other aircraft types — to Qatar, Bahrain, Dubai, Salalah and Muscat in Oman, Zanzibar, and Egypt.
DECEMBER SEES NEARLY DOUBLE GROWTH - PASSENGER NUMBERS UP BY 99%
In the final month of the year, December 2025, Bratislava Airport handled a record 225,898 passengers, representing an increase of 99% compared to December 2024, when 113,000 passengers were handled. A total of 1,956 flights were operated in December. The most popular destinations from Bratislava during the month included Barcelona, Košice, London, Thessaloniki, Rome, and Naples.
4 NEW ROUTES IN JANUARY 2026 AND ADDITIONAL 10 IN MARCH AND JUNE
The year 2026 began with continued growth at Bratislava Airport. In January, four new routes are being launched by Wizz Air, connecting Bratislava with Yerevan (Armenia), Kutaisi (Georgia), Larnaca (Cyprus), and Chișinău (Moldova). The new destinations were officially presented to the media at the airport by representatives of the respective embassies in Slovakia. In the course of March, Wizz Air will add a further nine new routes from Bratislava, followed by the launch of scheduled flights to Mykonos in June.