Tourists from Turkey, Sweden and Italy will pay from 60 to 125 euros more for a return trip by plane in July to Podgorica than it would cost them to fly to Tirana. The situation is similar for those from Montenegro who want to go on vacation to one of these three countries, because they will also pay from 55 to 116 euros more for a return plane ticket from the capital than from the capital of neighboring Albania.
This was established by "Vijesti" by checking and comparing the prices of identical state, private and low-cost airlines, from the capitals of Montenegro and Albania, in the same period, at the end of July, in order to see the true cost of travel from these cities.
The Airport of Montenegro (ACG) told "Vijesta" that comparing the prices of airport services shows that the general level in the region is almost the same. They clarified that the structure of operating costs of airlines includes airport services, fuel, aircraft maintenance, crew costs and others. They pointed out that there are discounts that they charge carriers for opening new routes and increasing the number of passengers, and that through an incentive scheme during 2023, they charged carriers discounts amounting to more than 10 million euros. ACG pointed out that it is practically impossible to make comparisons, when those schemes that are standard in the industry are also included in the calculation.
Stockholm is an exception
Tourists from Sweden who want to visit Montenegro this summer will pay 25 euros for a return ticket from the capital there to Podgorica in the period from July 31 to 370 with the carrier "Air Serbia". That is 60 euros more expensive than the same flight from Stockholm to Tirana, which costs 310 euros. Of the checked flights, the plane ticket from Stockholm to Podgorica is cheaper than the one to Tirana, only with the airline "Turkish airlines", and that is 65 euros. Thus, a flight to Podgorica costs 511 euros, while a trip to Tirana costs 576 euros.
Those who would like to visit Montenegro in the period from July 25 to 30 from Milan, Italy, will pay 125 euros more for a plane ticket with the Hungarian lowcost company "Wizzair" than they would pay for a flight to neighboring Albania. Thus, a return trip on the Milan-Podgorica section costs 245 euros, and on the Milan-Tirana route 120 euros.
There is a similar price difference for those coming from Istanbul, Turkey. Tourists from the city on the Bosphorus would have to pay 25 euros more for a flight with "Air Serbia" in the period from July 30 to 123 to get to Podgorica, than to the capital of Albania. A return ticket to Tirana costs 256 euros, while the one to Podgorica costs 379 euros. The smallest price difference is with the local airline "Turkish Airlines", where a return flight to Podgorica costs 345 euros, and to Tirana around 312 euros. Thus, the trip to Tirana is about thirty euros cheaper.
On the other hand, return tickets from Montenegro to these countries are up to 116 euros more expensive than from neighboring Albania. Although traveling from Tirana is increasingly popular among the citizens of Podgorica, and for some flights even cheaper, with the costs of travel by bus, car or transfer, parking, possible accommodation, food and lost time, the difference in actual costs is not significant.
For residents of Podgorica who want to fly from Tirana, a return bus ticket to that city in Albania costs about 30 euros, and the trip takes three to four and a half hours, maybe more with delays at the border during the summer. Given the current fuel prices and the fact that it is a 300-kilometer route in total, driving in both directions will cost around 30 euros even for those with a car. The airport parking in Tirana, according to their website, costs 15 euros per day in the first zone, and five euros in the other zones. For those who have to sleep over to wait for a flight or the like, an overnight stay near the airport for one person, according to data from the "Airbnb" and "Booking" platforms, costs at least 60 euros. In addition, lower costs for food and other necessities are possible.
For those from Montenegro who want to spend the summer in the north of Italy, a return ticket from July 25 to 30 with the Hungarian low-cost airline "Wizzair" to the Italian Milan will cost 205 euros. This means that a trip from Podgorica is about 69 euros more expensive than a flight in the same period from Tirana, for which 136 euros should be allocated with that company. For those who would like to replace the warm Adriatic with the fresher Baltic, from July 25 to 31, they will pay 417,5 euros for a ticket to Stockholm through the airline "Air Serbia". This is 116 euros more than for the same flight from Tirana, which is 301 euros. Both flights last more than ten hours and include a layover in Belgrade. Traveling on this route with the company "Turkish Airlines" from Podgorica costs 558 euros, which is 53 euros more than the return ticket from Albania, which costs 505 euros.
The only exception among the flights checked by "Vijesti" refers to the cheap airline "Norwegian air shuttle", where tickets are more expensive from Tirana than from Tivat. In this case, the ticket from Albania to Stockholm costs 562 euros, ie 80 euros more than the one from this coastal city.
Apart from these, the flights of the carrier "Air Serbia" to Istanbul are also 50 euros more expensive from Podgorica, which cost 364 euros, while the ticket with the same carrier from Tirana costs 315 euros. Similar prices are offered by "Turkish airlines", where the flight from the capital to the city on the Bosphorus is about 54 euros more expensive.
Airports of Montenegro: We do not form ticket prices
ACG stated that they do not participate in the formation of ticket prices for any of the airlines operating in Montenegro. They stated that from the beginning of the year to March 31, they provided services to almost 270 thousand passengers, which is about 39 percent more compared to the same period of the record year 2019.
"Landing and take-off fee (for aircraft up to 24 tons per ton is 7,5 euros, for 24-ton aircraft 9,5 euros), departure passenger service fee (domestic service is five euros, international service is 15 euros, transfer passenger is four euros), security control fee per outgoing passenger is 3,25 euros, the fee for persons with reduced mobility on departure is 25 cents", are some of the typical prices at the Podgorica airport, according to ACG.
They added that Podgorica will be connected to 40 destinations during this season, and that lines to Munich, Ostrava in the Czech Republic, Košice in Slovakia and Radom in Poland will also be open.
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