Planica ski flying hill to be enlarged to enable potential world record jumps

Slovenia plans to enlarge the Planica ski flying hill (Letalnica) to allow jumps of up to approximately 270 meters. The Slovenian government has approved subsidies to finance a €2.69 million expansion, targeted for completion by November 2027.

The move comes after the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) updated its regulations in 2025, increasing the maximum permitted vertical drop from the end of the take-off table to the lowest point from 135 meters to 140 meters. Jelko Gros of the Nordic Centre Planica explained that the investment proposal was prepared in response to these rule changes and has now been approved by the government.

Planica and Vikersund (Norway’s “Monsterbakken”) have competed for more than three decades to host the longest official ski flights. The current official world record is 254.5 meters, set by Slovenia’s Domen Prevc in March 2025 at Planica. Although Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi flew 291.0 meters on a temporary hill in Iceland in April 2024, that mark does not count as an official ski flying world record.

With the expansion, Planica aims to reclaim and extend the limits of the sport, keeping pace with Vikersund in the ongoing race to enable ever longer, but still regulated and safe, ski flights.