WHO LEADS BHANSA: Primorac and two deputies on sick leave, will not attend public hearing before the Transport Commission

(Patria) – The entire management of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Air Navigation Services Agency (BHANSA), director Davorin Primorac, better known as the son-in-law of Dragan Čović, as well as two deputy directors Sanjin Hadžiomerović and Tomislav Marinković are on sick leave, which is why they will not appear at the public hearing before the Transport and Communications Commission of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The notification to the Commission from the office of Director Primorac arrived on Sunday, given that the absence must be announced 48 hours before the hearing scheduled for January 20.

In mid-December, Primorac sent a sharply worded letter to the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Borjana Krišto, ministers in the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the OHR, the EU Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Chairman of the Transport and Communications Commission, Jasmin Imamović, opposing the public hearing of BHANSA management members.

In the letter, Primorac stated that the Commission's actions produce harmful consequences for the work and reputation of BHANSA, and that they submit illegal requests seeking data on the monthly amount needed for BHANSA's operations, the amount of monthly net salaries of employees, starting from the director and other employees.

BHANSA has never submitted data on monthly costs to the Commission, justifying itself by saying that it "does not have data on fixed monthly amounts needed for BHANSA's operations" because the monthly dynamics of costs and monetary obligations depend on the volume of realized activities, nor on employee salaries, stating that these are personal data protected by the Law on Personal Data Protection.

BHANSA does not accept the Commission's positions, which stated that BHANSA's management is withholding financial data.

In its letter, it states that the Commission is exerting pressure, especially some members making accusations against employees, thereby creating an atmosphere of fear and pressure among employees, especially among air traffic controllers.

The Commission previously requested data on the number of all employees in this institution, the Main Office in Mostar, and the names and surnames of employees. The Commission requested that copies of public procurement contracts from the beginning of 2023 to December 1, 2025, be submitted. The Administrative Inspectorate of Bosnia and Herzegovina was requested to urgently conduct a direct inspection supervision of BHANSA. The inspection supervision was carried out on December 23, but the Law on Administration does not apply to this institution, which is why the inspector had no basis for ordering administrative or other measures.

Primorac persistently claims that BHANSA does not use funds from the budget of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that financial documents are approved at multiple levels, both by international and national authorized institutions. BHANSA warns that after the "Viaduct" case, when EUROCONTROL funds were blocked due to debt collection based on a court ruling, they are facing an exodus of expert staff.

"Dozens of air traffic controllers are leaving the Agency due to the disrupted stability of the system and high demand for this cadre on the international market, which currently lacks 80,000 air traffic controllers. The training of one air traffic controller takes more than three years, and the complete training cycle reaches a cost of up to 350,000 KM per candidate. Each departure of a trained controller represents not only a loss of significant financial investment for BHANSA but also a direct reduction in the Agency's capacity to ensure stable provision of air traffic services," it is stated.

There were no reactions to this letter from Primorac, at least none were publicly published, and the public hearing was not canceled. However, given that they are on sick leave, none of the management members will appear before the Commission.

Primorac also used this letter to point out that the amendments to the Law on the Agency for the Provision of Air Navigation Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina have not been adopted, and that BHANSA is unable to plan or establish air traffic control services at the Trebinje and Bihać airports, without which "the Trebinje and Bihać airports will not be put into operational function, since without air traffic control, no airport can be integrated into civil aviation." Although this letter might give the impression that these airports have been built, this is not true, so it is unclear why Primorac is dragging unfinished airports into the whole story. He also warned that amendments are needed due to the use of drones, which are increasingly causing problems for air traffic.

The current law from 2009 limits BHANSA to providing services to the airports of Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka, and Tuzla.

Primorac has been at the helm of BHANSA for a second term, which expires in March of this year. Amendments to the BHANSA Law, which were supposed to allow the management to remain in their positions, did not pass in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Džemal Smajić, previously stated that the director's brother, Ivica Primorac, is the head of finance at BHANSA. One of the members of the BHANSA Council is Marin Raspudić, who is family-related to the head of the HDZ.

According to information from the Commission, the national structure of employees does not reflect the national structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is why information on the number of employees was requested.

And while the management tries to avoid appearing before the Commission to answer numerous questions, the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina at its last session adopted amendments to the Rulebook on Salaries, Allowances, and Compensations in BHANSA, thereby enabling salary growth for employees. Thus, the salary of director Primorac will also significantly increase, as well as that of air traffic controllers, who were used as a trump card for increasing all other salaries as well.