Adria Airways informations and photos

Adria Airways d.o.o. (formerly Inex-Adria Aviopromet and later Inex-Adria Airways) was the flag carrier of Slovenia, operating scheduled and charter services to European destinations. The company's head office was at Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport in Zgornji Brnik, Cerklje na Gorenjskem, near Ljubljana. On 30 September 2019, the airline declared bankruptcy and ceased all operations.

The airline was founded in March 1961 as Adria Aviopromet (Adria Airways). In August the company purchased two DC-6B from KLM and flew their first commercial flight with a Dutch crew. At the same time, the first Adria crew and technical teams were trained by JAT Yugoslav Airlines and the air force. Adria carried out its first flight with a domestic crew in December 1961. At the same time all other activities necessary for the company were set up and organised, from the commercial to the accounting department.

During the following years, Adria gradually acquired a market with tourist flights from Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia to airports on the Adriatic coast. In 1964, flights to the United States and Canada were added in order to meet the needs of expatriate organisations. Adria also carried out a considerable number of flights for the United Nations.

With the opening of the new airport in Ljubljana in 1964, Adria relocated its base from its previous headquarters in Zagreb.

The DC-6B aircraft gradually became non-competitive on the market. The company fell into a serious crisis in 1967, which ended with a bankruptcy procedure at 1968. After a compulsory settlement, Adria continued its operations largely thanks to the efforts of the president of the Slovenian Chamber of the Commerce and Industry of the time.

In December 1968, Adria merged with the Serbian company InterExport based in Belgrade and changed its name from Adria Aviopromet to Inex-Adria Aviopromet (Inex-Adria Airways). The fleet renewal began.

In 1969, the first jet aircraft was purchased, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 with 115 seats. Thus began a period of modernisation of the fleet, which allowed Adria to increase its share on the tourist flights market. In September 1969 the first scheduled service was established on the Ljubljana-Belgrade route. In March 1970, Adria had four Douglas DC-6B and a Douglas DC-9-30 with one more on order.

Business saw a considerable increase. Adria, in addition to expanding the number of its own aircraft, occasionally also leased aircraft (Sud Aviation Caravelle, Douglas DC-8, BAC One-Eleven).

In 1972, Adria renewed its transatlantic flights to the United States and Canada with Douglas DC-8-55 aircraft. However, it withdrew from that service next year.

In the late 1970s, Adria was awarded as most punctual carrier on the charter flight market. The greatest commercial successes of that period were achieved on the German market which was also the largest at that time, in a productive partnership with Grimex Company. The number of flights to Great Britain, France, Spain and Scandinavia also increased. During that period, Adria also introduced flights within Yugoslavia.

The company paid a great deal of attention to education. It founded a professional education centre and assisted in setting up an aviation course at the engineering faculty in Ljubljana. Special emphasis was given to the development of safety awareness, as three accidents occurred during the last decade.

Inex-Adria Aviopromet (Inex-Adria Airways) entered the 1980s as a respectable company with confirmed success on the tourist market and scheduled internal flights.
In May 1981 Adria purchased three new McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft. Unfortunately, one of them crashed into a mountain in Corsica in December, killing all aboard.

In 1982, Adria got a new leadership which focused on the education of the flight crews, technical staff and other professional personnel as well as on ensuring safety.

In that period, the business remained focused on charter flights to the Adriatic. Flights for guest workers in Germany and Switzerland, which were connected to internal flights, became an important part of the business. At the end of 1984, the first scheduled international flights were also established on the Ljubljana–Belgrade–Larnaca route.

Prospects for the development of air traffic were very good, so in 1984, Adria signed a contract for the purchase of 5 Airbus A320 aircraft. Also two new Dash 7 aircraft were bought for the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.

In December 1985, Adria had four McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30, two McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50, one McDonnell Douglas MD-81, three McDonnell Douglas MD-82 and two de Havilland Canada Dash 7 aircraft. A year later another MD-82 joined the fleet.

Due to a commercial law restructuring programme, in 1986, Adria left the Inex group, becoming an independent company and changing its name to Adria Airways. Later, Adria became a member of IATA.

In 1989, the first new Airbus A320 arrived. It was 43rd A320 made by the Airbus and the first one to be powered by the new IAE Engines.

As Yugoslavia began to break up, the tourist industry on the Adriatic slumped, which was also felt by the air carriers. In September 1990, another two new Airbus A320 arrived. The last two were expected to arrive in June 1991. In December 1990, a referendum on the independence of Slovenia was held in which the overwhelming majority of Slovenian residents (around 89%) voted for the independence of Slovenia from Yugoslavia.

Independence was declared on 25 June 1991. Following that, Adria was facing an entirely new set of circumstances. On 28 June 1991, Yugoslav Federal Air Force attacked Adria's hangar, causing serious damage to four aircraft, the building, and vehicles. An Airbus A320, less than a year old, was heavily damaged and was flown to Toulouse later that year for almost a year of repairs. In addition, two Dash-7 and 1 DC-9-30 were damaged as well, while other planes escaped damage after being flown just hours earlier to the nearest airport of Klagenfurt. Adria was very handicapped that year because of the insurance and registration issues.

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