Aviation and the development of its activities has a rich history in Slovenia. Initially, aviation activities included design and construction of light aircrafts and involvement in sport aviation, but over the years the idea of a modern aviation service and of establishing a Slovenian aviation company began to emerge. The state leadership at the end of the 1950s supported the idea, establishing the aviation company Adria Aviopromet with its headquarters in Ljubljana. The company operated with four Douglas DC-6B airliners. The newly created aviation company and the ambition to develop Slovenia’s own passenger air traffic created a need for a new and modern airport. Until that time, Ljubljana only had a small civil and military Airport Polje, located along the present-day Letališka Road.

The grand opening of the new Brnik Airport was scheduled for December 14, 1963, but was postponed by ten days and eventually took place on December 24, 1963, according to the preserved archival records. Three hundred guests were invited to attend the opening. In addition to sending the formal invitation to the opening, the then chief of protocol recommended some of the more distinguished quests come to the newly opened airport via Kranj, explaining that the road between Kranj and Brnik was asphalted and snow-ploughed. The most distinguished attendees at the opening were Miha Marinko (secretary of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Slovenia), Ivan Maček (president of the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia), Viktor Avbelj (president of the Executive Committee of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia), and Marin Cetinić (federal secretary for traffic and connections). Car transportation and accommodation were provided for the high-ranking attendees arriving from Belgrade.

The opening ceremony started at 10.30 am with the gathering of the guests on the platform in front of the entrance into the airport’s main building. The attendees then witnessed the landing of the first DC-6B plane on board of which were guests from Zagreb. At 10.55 am the second plane Caravelle JAT was scheduled to land, bringing on board the distinguished guests from Belgrade, but due to bad weather the plane never landed. Following the landing of the DC-6B, there were speeches, the cutting of the ribbon and the releasing of a large weather balloon onto which three flags were attached; the Communist Party flag, the Yugoslav and the Slovenian flag. With this the airport was officially opened. After the opening, the christening of the Caravelle plane from Belgrade was supposed to take place, but since it never landed this part of the ceremony programme was cancelled. Instead, the quests were invited to have a look at the four-engine plane Douglas DC-6B and the whole event concluded with a lunch at the Park Restaurant in Kranj.

The opening of the airport and the landing of the first passenger plane also attracted the interest of the local population. Some walked several kilometres to witness the aircraft take-off and land at Brnik. The whole affair was also covered by the media of the time. The newspaper Delo published a news item containing a statement by Karel Rankl, the captain in charge of the landing of the first plane, who said the landing was wonderful and smooth. He complimented the flight landing strip and the visibility of the airport. He said he was glad that Slovenia had finally got its own modern airport that can easily compete with any other around the world.

Regular air traffic from Brnik airport began on January 9, 1964. This was also the year the second stage of the building of the airport was completed, the runway was extended, and the airport platform enlarged

Jasmina Kogovšek