Skopje Alexander the Great Airport (SKP) is the primary international gateway to North Macedonia. Situated 17 kilometres southeast of the capital Skopje, deep in the Vardar river basin, this airport handles approximately 2.5 million passengers each year. It is, for all practical purposes, the country's only major international airport — the sole point through which the vast majority of international travellers enter and leave North Macedonia.
But SKP has a problem that no amount of investment can solve: geography. The Vardar valley is a natural fog trap. Cold air pools in the basin during autumn and winter, creating visibility conditions that can shut down flight operations for hours or even entire days. Add continental weather extremes — summers that push past 40°C and winters that plunge below -15°C — and you have an airport where disruptions are not exceptional events but a structural feature of operations.
If your flight at Skopje Airport was delayed by more than 3 hours, cancelled without adequate notice, or you were denied boarding, you may be entitled to up to €600 in compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004. But because North Macedonia is not an EU member state, the rules work differently here than at airports in Berlin, Vienna, or Athens. This guide explains exactly how.



