Belgrade figures continue to rise
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport recorded strong growth in October 2011 despite a fall in the number of operated flights. The airport handled 272.673 passengers, an increase of 20.6% compared to the same month last year. The figure is even more impressive when it is taken into account that the airport saw a total of 3.750 arrivals and departures compared to 3.849 last year, a decrease of 2.5%. The airport is hoping that the strong figures will continue with SkyWork Airlines inaugurating flights from Bern yesterday while Flydubai will begin services to Belgrade on November 10 with four weekly flights. On the other hand, Tunisair, which was to launch flights from Monastir to the Serbian capital for the winter season has decided against the move and will keep its Tunis - Belgrade service instead. So far this year, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport has recorded a total of 2.691.836 passengers and, as a result, should just surpass its goal of three million passengers by the end of the year.Meanwhile, Niš Constantine the Great Airport handled 2.683 passengers in October. With its only scheduled flights being services from Podgorica operated by Montenegro Airlines, Niš welcomed a total of 20.748 passengers so far this year. It is on course to surpass last year’s result when it saw a total of 23.627 passengers.
Construction of the new passenger terminal at Morava Airport in Kraljevo is in full swing with all construction deadlines to be met. Although the airport has been officially opened, it should handle its first flights from April 1, if it manages to attract customers. Work on the extension of the existing runway should begin early next year.
Nice job Belgrade. Very nice indeed. What's the prognosis for 2012 ?
ReplyDelete16% year on year, that's far from bad. With flydubai's bookings going really well I wonder what we might see this coming November!
ReplyDeleteI think that Belgrade airport will easily surpass the 3,000,000 mark as they are only roughly 300,000 passengers away!
Many flights are cancelled today. Not a good start to November. Any news on why is this?
ReplyDeleteOh yes, 3.150.000 pax for sure.
ReplyDeleteBut that's still behind the all-time record of 1987 which was something like 3.3 or 3.4 ... ?
Definitely on a right track though.
ok. it's real foggy in Belgrade and that is the reason for cancelation. BUT don't they have the equipment for this category? Maybe the airplanes didn't have it?
ReplyDeleteWith +20% in Nov and Dec BEG will have no more than 3115000 passengers.
With +7% next year it will have reached the 1988 levels of about 3.34 mil passengers
It was extremely foggy this morning in Belgrade (as well as last night). The flights that are cancelled are those operated with smaller jets which don’t have the ability to land despite the CATIII system at the airport. A few years ago all of the flights today would have been cancelled or redirected. Thankfully now it’s not even a handful.
ReplyDeleteAny new airlines except FlyDubai and SkyWorks?
ReplyDeleteOh God, the fog made a nightmare @ BEG apt. All these cancellations and flight delays... Chaos :)
ReplyDeleteI bet will see some Russian carrier starting flights ie next summer season, because of the new agreement between Serbia and Russia... Transaero would be great addition :)
Regarding the article, WZZ made a huge influence on pax growth @ BEG this year... Only God knows when we'll see some new WZZ destinations... I saw some changes to S12 schedule at wizzair.com. They reduced NYO to 2 f/w, increased EIN and GSE from 2 to 3 f/w (EIN flights operated by ac not based in BEG), LTN departs at 0600am instead of 0530am... maybe some more changes will be made until the beginning of S12... 2 weekly LCA flights would be great addition :)
I am very happy for BEG. Let's hope even more airlines come and they reach the 4 mil mark soon. I think BEG has a lot of potential, especially considering the fact that ZAG and some of the Adriatic routes such as RJK, PUY, SPU are still not being served. Once those along with SOF and PRN are added, BEG will finally have a complete coverage of the Balkans and will have more chance for possible TATL flights.
ReplyDeleteGreat job. Imagine if Jat operated properly, how many more passengers they would add.
ReplyDeleteDuring the winter season which airlines increased their capacity for flights to BEG?
ReplyDeleteWizzair a big disappointment
ReplyDelete...no new flights ,no new destinations, no increase of frequency !
London still 4 times a week ..a joke.. from Sofia it goes daily! It seems that Wizz has totally lost interest in Beg !
Wizz opened Vilnius (which is three times smaller) the same time ...with daily London ...expansion every half year.
I think we will not see more of Wizz...we will wait for another airline which flies to Milano, Berlin...trust me for all these cities there is demand especially Hamburg and Berlin with big enough Serbian communities !
At least the bus companies profit from it...
FR adding Rygge to Pula for next summer
ReplyDeleteSerbian citizens need visas for UK. Maybe that`s why WZZ does not increase frequency to LTN. A?
ReplyDeleteAnd honestly, we in Serbia are not rich that much airliners to cover every single airport in Europe
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ReplyDeleteguys there is rumors that PIA is going to start Karachi to Belgrade!!! just kidding... I am very happy for BEG growth and i hope all other airports in the ex yu will have growth this year
ReplyDeleteThe second last anonymous is spot on Serbia is a poor country so can't expect huge numbers of flights. It doesn't have the tourists of Croatia or a particularly progressive national airline.
ReplyDelete@anonymus 5.38 pm:
ReplyDeleteWizzair (not only Wizz, but Ryanair too) fly to Vilnius and Kaunas (Lithuania) from Stansted and Luton airports a few times a day. Reason for that is Lithunia is a part of the EU, no visa restriction and employability restriction in the UK and most of the EU countries so there you go that is why. Citizens of Serbia still need visa to go to the UK(even the transit one) and with Wizzair's and Jat's flights I think it is pretty good at this very moment. Lithuania, when they needed visas for the UK and before they joined EU (meaning making them able to work in the UK) hardly had any flights to the UK. May I just remind you that 1/3 of Lithuanians are in the UK!!!! Fact! Wizzair based their plane at Surcin only over a year ago and I think everyone is going to agree that have made significant results (their load factor are VERY good!). Their network is pretty good, but always can be better. I do agree they can easily add more destinations but it will take some time. 9 destinations is impressive, especially if we take into account they fly with almost full planes.
YM have done a great job putting INI on the Europe's airport map, one single flight a day and for that, those results are amazing, I genuinely thought they were transporting less passengers which proves there is a need for flights from that part of Serbia.
Greetings from London,
Alex
Bangladesh,Pakistan and India are even more poor than Serbia!
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody know the reason everybody is flying there?
Obviously being poor means in aviation nothing... Serbia is in the same category as India,Pakistan, Brasil,South Africa and all the other developing countries !
And Wizz..what are they waiting
for? That some other airlines pick the roisins?!
Maybe they expand too fast elsewhere and totally forgot over Belgrade ?
If they dont grab the chances in the right moment they will have difficulties in the future !
When i see the monopolies of Jat to Dusseldorf, Milan, Berlin and so on
i would lick my fingers1
To London Alex:
ReplyDeleteWhat a response...i really appreciate the way you explain things !
Never knew that Lithuania is so much involved with Britain...that so much Lithuanians work outside their country !
What i fear is that trash...trash like Easyjet...opens those routes to Belgrade before Wizz does !
Dont like Easyshit at all and hope for Wizz ...which is far better ...therefore my anger and disappointment !
The main reason some people dont like Wizz is their colours...
stupid...they are wonderful !
At least five new airlines will start to fly to Belgrade during next summer season. Some of them are expected ones, but some will be a real surprise. The growth at Belgrade airport in November will hover at about 25%.
ReplyDeleteI like easyjet and I fly very often with them. They are really cheap and dont forget the fact that they are the only cheap airliner which flies to the main airports. Wizzair is also very good and I am happy they are in Belgrade but to put more destinations from BEG, like Barcelona, Prague, Bergamo, Beauvais, Hahn, Lubeck.. This would be great job.
ReplyDelete@second last anonymous
ReplyDeletedo you know something that we dont know? :)
btw, it would be nice to se easyjet at least on GVA-BEG route... and let me tell ya that one is really needed :)
I agree with JU500 regarding Geneva. BEG could definitely do with seasonal to ZAD, PUY, RJK, SPU (whichever airline), Wizz could definitely start flights to Prague, seasonal to Spanish coastal airports, would be great to see any airline to Canary Islands all year around( Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura), cheap, affordable destinations, great weather all year around. Lisbon by EZY, or any other airline, Faro seasonally. Hamburg, Berlin, etc. INI could do seasonally to Spanish, Portuguese, Greek summer destinations and all year around to German/Swiss/Austrian hubs.
ReplyDeleteWizz policy is to open base with one aircraft and that aircraft must make profit to "buy" 2nd, then those two, make profit for 3rd etc. The same was in Sofia, Ukraine etc. It goes much faster after 2nd, 3rd etc aircraft!
ReplyDeleteWizz air Bulgaria (today devision of Wizza air Hungary, not indipendent any more) start 2006 and today has 3 planes.
Wizz air Ukraine start 2008 today has 2 planes.
Makes sense what you say purger...
ReplyDeleteseems to me they are squeezing their flights and aircraft as much as possible...but at the same time contribute to their customers !
Wonderful !
OT: as another anonymous mentioned before, Ryanair is adding the 4th destination to Pula, starting March 26th 2012
ReplyDeleteLOL sorry forgot to add it is Oslo(Rygge)
ReplyDeleteWe were talking about Wizzair's LF from BEG before, does anyone know their LF from Skopje (London-LTN and Venice-Treviso)...?
ReplyDelete@Purger
ReplyDeleteNot saying that you are wrong, but how did they manage to add a 2nd aircraft at Vilnius that fast then? Vilnius opened a bit later than BEG and recently they announced a 2nd plane there.
looking forward to trying out skywork.
ReplyDeleteI wish easyjet would do beg-gva