Date of Visit: May 2025
My first steps in Bosnia and Herzegovina were at Banja Luka airport in the Republika Srpska after a short flight from the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
I travelled with Air Serbia who operate regular flights on this route. The minuscule Banja Luka airport is also now served by Ryanair and Wizz offering flights to and from Vienna, Karlsrühe, Gothenburg, Memmingen, Stockholm, Brussels (all Ryanair), Dortmund and Basel-Mulhouse (both Wizz).
The airport is a little under 20km North of the city centre and has the smallest passenger terminal I have ever seen. It can not be much more than 50 metres from entering the building from the aircraft tarmac to the exit, during which you pass through passport control and baggage reclaim (one single tiny belt along the wall).
Allegedly the airport does have an ATM/cash machine, but I never found it.
Once outside the terminal there are buses organised by Smiljić agency which are timed to meet the flights and cost 10KM or €5 (they will take either currency) and head towards the city and bus station.
There are also a myriad of taxis waiting outside the terminal after flight arrivals and fares are negotiable but very reasonable to take you door to door. This is the option I went for as I couldn’t find the ATM and had failed to plan to have any Euros with me on arrival, just some Serbian dinars and Sterling, neither of which were of any use to me. The taxi driver kindly agreed to stop off at an ATM on the way to the city so I could get some local currency.
Banja Luka is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative, political and economic centre of the Republika Srpska entity. Whilst Sarajevo is the official, or de jure, capital of Srpska, Banja Luka is the de facto capital.
Banja Luka is full of flags – Srpska, Serbia and even Russian, but the only place I saw the State Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina was at Banja Luka Airport.
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