Ljubljana, 25 January (STA) - Adria Airways will abolish direct flights to Moscow and Düsseldorf as of February. The link with the Russian capital is expected to be re-introduced in the summer as part of the codeshare agreement with the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, while the Dusseldorf link will be continued under a codeshare agreement with Lufthansa.

The former Slovenian flag carrier, now owned by the German fund 4K Invest, told the STA on Friday that a majority of passengers on the Ljubljana-Moscow line were Russians, who preferred their flag carrier.

The number of passengers on Adria flights to the Russian capital has dropped below the level of economic feasibility, as Aeroflot has been flying between Moscow and Ljubljana every day since last October.

The Ljubljana-Düsseldorf line will continue to be operated every day in the week on the basis of a codeshare agreement with the German flag carrier, with the passengers connecting through Munich and Frankfurt.

"Adria Airways will additionally optimise its network of flights in order to respond to the greatest possible extent to the demands and needs of passengers, and to improve connectivity on existing lines," the airline said.

In the summer schedule, Adria Airways plans to gradually increase the frequency of flights on the Ljubljana-Munich route to 19 flights a week and introduce an additional weekly flight on the Priština-Frankfurt line.