Macedonia Opens New Skopje Airport

The airport, which has been named “Alexander the Great”, will be managed by Turkish company TAV.

It is approximately ten times larger than Skopje’s previous city airport and has six air bridges, 23 check-in  desks and 15 passport control counters.

TAV has invested €110 million in the new terminal and has a licence to manage it for the next 20 years. It aims to turn the airport into a regional flight centre for the whole of the Balkan region.

Before visiting the airport, Gruevski unveiled a special fleet of double-decker buses designed to resemble British buses that were used in Skopje in the 1950s and 1960s and a new six-lane boulevard.

"I hope there will be more passengers on this airport, more tourists and more investors in Macedonia," Gruevski said at the opening.

Celebrations are expected to reach their climax on Thursday evening with display of a 24-metre high statue entitled "Warrior on a horse" and the opening of a new museum commemorating Macedonia’s struggle for independence. Both the statue and museum are part of the “Skopje 2014 Project” aimed at boosting the capital’s image. 

To mark independence, the army will conduct a parade, one thousand children will sing a song specially composed for the anniversary, a play will be performed and big names from Macedonia’s pop, folk and rock music scenes will entertain crowds.

Macedonia proclaimed its independence on September 8, 1991 after citizens choose to separate from ex-Yugoslavia. Macedonia was the only one out of six Yugoslav republics that became independent without a war.