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| Belgrade Airport surpasses 2013 with significant September growth |
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport handled more passengers by the end of September than it did for the whole of 2013. The airport recorded another month of impressive growth as it welcomed 485.383 passengers, an increase of 38.8% compared to September last year. The number of flight operations also increased with a total of 5.516 arrivals and departures, up 21.5%. During the first nine months of 2014, Belgrade Airport has seen 3.590.231 travellers pass through its doors, an increase of 31.5% on the same period last year. The airport has already surpassed 2013’s record breaking end-of-year result when it saw 3.543.194 passengers.
With Belgrade Airport continuing to record bumper traffic, the Serbian government has confirmed it will give the airport up for concession, rather than sell it, which was being considered as an option at one point earlier this year. However, the Serbian Prime Minister said the concession has been pushed back for 2015. “Thanks to Air Serbia the airport is now worth three times more than it was last year. Through a concession we can now get 500 to 600 million euros plus a billion euros in investments and a contract which can be terminated at any point”, Prime Minister Vučić said. Previously, investors from the United Arab Emirates, Greece, Russia and France expressed their interest in taking part in the concession.
The Mayor of Belgrade, Siniša Mali, recently commented on the future developments at Nikola Tesla Airport for the "Elevate" magazine. “The Serbian government intends to find a strategic partner for the development of Belgrade Airport. The airport’s capacities are already insufficient to handle the significant growth being recorded by Air Serbia. A new management team was recently appointed at the airport”. Mr. Mali added, “The City of Belgrade and Serbia need an airport that can follow Air Serbia. If we want to fly to North America, launch new destinations and further increase passenger numbers, Belgrade Airport must also be developed. We need a partner who will build a new runway, terminal, a cargo centre, hotels and other facilities that will enable Air Serbia to bring more travellers to the country”.
| Month | PAX | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| JAN | 270.784 | ▲ 28.9 |
| FEB | 232.061 | ▲ 33.8 |
| MAR | 282.447 | ▲ 28.2 |
| APR | 368.171 | ▲ 46.2 |
| MAY | 383.773 | ▲ 27.5 |
| JUN | 451.324 | ▲ 28.8 |
| JUL | 539.823 | ▲ 24.7 |
| AUG | 576.461 | ▲ 30.7 |
| SEP | 485.383 | ▲ 38.8 |
Hmm... so logically, next August Belgrade should handle more than 600.000 passengers in a single month?! That's just fantastic.
ReplyDeleteCan we expect Belgrade to handle 4.600.000 passengers this year? Maybe even 4.7?
I can't wait for November and December numbers when Air Serbia will be competing against itself.
Amazing growth for BEG this year.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up that way...
I reckon at least 4.6 mil pax will be handled easily this year.
Interesting how September outperformed June... I guess it has to do with Serbian diaspora heading back home.
ReplyDeleteEveryone keeps on ignoring cargo and mail!
ReplyDeleteSeptember:
Cargo: +28% (2014: 6.951.644 kg, +28%)
Mail: +18% (2014: 829.511, +16%)
The Latvian cargo airline RAF Avia had also launched flights from Budapest this year in addition to the one weekly flight by THY Cargo.
DeleteThis is really great news! I expect BEG to handle about 4.7 million passengers in 2014, maybe even more then 5 million in 2015. I really think BEG should find a concessor in 2015, and then get a new runway, terminal 3, hotels and cargo centre, and I hope that this will happen.
ReplyDeleteоне из Београда
ReplyDeleteNa sta mislis?
DeleteI can't wait for the following things to happen:
ReplyDelete1. At least 10 weekly flights to BRU, CPH, ARN and TXL (I removed AMS from my list).
2. Prague getting a freaking jet.
3. Vienna getting more than 14 weekly frequencies, or at least a jet seven times per week.
Is there any special reason why all other frequency increases were dropped except AMS?
DeleteAMS is already planned to be 10 p/w
DeleteThat's why AMS was removed from the list since it was already announced.
DeleteBelgrade airport will break its four million mark next month! Fantastic.
ReplyDeleteWhat about double daily to London?? A night-stop in Gatwick please!
ReplyDeletewith current visa regime, hardly
DeleteWhat I like very much is 38.8% increase on 21.5% increase in arrivals and departures. Considering the fact that most of this increase is due to JU that means that not only they fly more but they are carring more pax.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the months ahead I think this trend might cool down a bit and settle down in early 2015. Looking at their winter season they seem to be showing some restrain when it comes to capacity, maybe the sign that they are working on yields little more.
Is it me or they are having lot less sale offers these days? What do you think?
Sorry, I meant carrying more pax!
DeleteI think they have more offers than any time before. Happy Friday, super Saturday, Sunday walk-ins and so on...
DeleteI think the difference between aircraft movement and passenger growth has also to do with Air Serbia introducing two A320s. They also have 4 high density B733 in their fleet.
+1 agree with your outlook. JU now has mostly individual country sales targeting Turkey, Montenegro etc (Ataturk flights are doing amazing)
DeleteFrom end of October Air Serbia will be everywhere. Massive advertizing campaign will start and not only in Serbia but internationaly as well but I can't say more... It will be a nice and unexpected surprise. Next year will be massive for JU :)
Thank you both for the reply.
DeleteAnon 1:43, That was my impression as well that their promotions are lot more market focused these days and lot less wholesale. Again, I might be wrong (it's not like in tune every day) but that was just my impression lately.
Etihad will also transfer the remaining two A319s to Air Serbia will make make growth a reality once again.
DeleteThat's brilliant! So they will be YU-APK and YU-APL!
DeleteSources?!
DeleteI was told that yesterday by an airline employee. That's one of the main reasons why Etihad is suspending Abu Dhabi as it doesn't have enough aircraft of its own to operate Belgrade flights.
DeleteCongratulations BEG. Keep up the good work but still waiting for Spain flights
ReplyDeletePrelepe vesti nadam se da ce i Oct biti jos bolji.
ReplyDeleteI nadam se da ce ASL jos uz ta 2 A319 dobitii koji ATR 72-600 da moze da leti npr za Innsbruck JATBEGMEL karta povratna sa busom je od 100-140 eur do Novoga Sada a avion da je 160-200 eur svi bi leteli unesto da putuju dugo =D =D
INN-NS
prestani sa =D =D cemu to?
DeleteJer je veseo tip pa se stalno smeje
DeleteI would love to see an advertizing campaign with Vesna Trivalic. At least one TV commercial :) Her JAT gigs were hilarious, and the new packaging might provide some sense of continuity.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see something airy (like Air Serbia's wide and comfy Airbus business class seats) and with long legged air hostesses (sorry, FA's) as in this Korean Air ad:
Deletehttp://www.ispot.tv/ad/7LCF/korean-air-featuring-lunar-seeds-song
If that's not possible, I'll be okay with an ad featuring French actor/actress (hope for Juliette Binoche, not Gerard Depardieu)!
asl need more european flights like: ham, bcn, man, dub, got, esb, lys, vce, szg and led!
ReplyDeleteAgree!
Delete+1
DeleteSalzburg se nebi nikada isplatio kao Innsbruck zbog blizine MUC :)
DeleteINN-NS
u salcburgu i okolini zivi nesto manje od 15ak hiljada srba, za razliku od insbruka i okoline gde ih zivi nesto manje od 6.000, ali ti to svakako bolje od mene znas, zar ne :) to je prvo, drugo, jedan atr 5 puta nedeljno bi odlicno podneo liniju, koja bi bez finansiranja grada salcburga bila jaca po broju putnika od one prema banja luci :) i jos nesto, znam mnogo srba iz minhena koji za beograd lete iz stutgarta, prema tome koliko je blizu minhen nije toliko vazno koliko monopol lufthanse na letu za minhen. pozz :)
DeleteHamburg,Munich and Saint Petersburg would be awesome!
DeleteAnd of course massive frequencies to Croatian
coastal cities.
And daily nonstop to Ohrid!
Pa svi idu Autom za razliku od Innsbrucka gde jedan deo ide i dalje avionom pa vecina tih srba iz Salzburga je iz Republike Srpske za razliku iz Innsbrucka gde dolazi dosta iz Petrovca i Svijlajnca =D =D
DeleteINN-NS
DeleteWhat happened with airberlin starting MUC-BEG?
DeleteAir Berlin never intended to start flying to Belgrade and they still don't.
DeleteDelaying Belgrade airport concession may limit Air Serbia growth, postpone increased GoS revenue and further push back opening of a new terminal by at least a year, so what is the rationale and benefit behind this delay? Airport is already a bottleneck and 2014 improvements did not massively increase capacity nor equity. Contractual obligation to provide dedicated Terminal to Air Serbia is not yet on the horizon.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I am impressed by Air Serbia achievements and outlook, I am even more concerned about the future of the airport.
Things are not as desperate... yet.
DeleteAir Serbia can still expand its midnight wave of departures which is its weakest. They can add another 10 departures between 23.30 and 01.00 which could be ok to cover more regional and Middle Eastern destinations.
Agreed, near term opportunities are still out there. Bringing a new terminal online in less than 2-3 years is a major challenge, so without it one has to wonder what the customer experience will look like at BEG in August of 2016 or 2017?
DeleteHmm... one can just travel through IST to get a picture.
DeleteIn my opinion, BEG airport is pivotal to YU's new business model. BEG is required to cushion a lot of the YU costs to allow for growth and expansion via "discounts" and so forth. If airport is taken over by anyone before 31/12/2016 then they may not be so accomodating to YU. At the same time Serbian Government probably does not have the funds to undertake a major project at BEG.
DeleteThose are well known facts. However future investors are there not only for 2015/2016 revenue but in the long run (20-30 years) and would miss out a lot of long term revenue if they postpone construction start to 1 Jan 2017. Contract could be crafted with those discounts baked in to allow future investor to proceed with early construction in 2015 and then reap the benefit of full revenue AND almost completed new terminal in 2017.
DeleteBelgrade airport can easily in many ways during peak hours and between them take care of 20.000 pax/24h.
ReplyDeleteIf SPU managed to handle 27,000 pax in one day, so Belgrade should be able to handle at least 30k
DeleteIt can handle even more if you schedule a bunch of 747's to arrive at 3-3:30 at night, unload passengers at Apron B and tell them baggage will be available in 24 hours :)
DeleteI think the point is to increase capacity during peak hours using all the comforts like jet bridges and support services.
Last anonymous,
DeleteExactly, people tend to forget that Belgrade is currently functioning quite differently from before. During summer peak hours (especially around 17.00) almost all airbridges are being used up. We used to have 2x Wizz Air, Lot, Alitalia, Montenegro Airlines and then around 15 to 19 Air Serbia aircraft!
Jedno krajnje glupavo pitanje. Sta ce v jos koja pista u beg? 5 mil putnika uz 20% rasta treba 10 godina da se postignu cifre gva i stansteda . A i to nije blizu max capaciteta pss. Jedinl ako valjate cement i asfalt onda vas razumem.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteNije stvar u u drugoj pisti, nego u stanju postojece..
DeleteKoliko cujem u dosta je losem stanju, tako da sada nece biti moguce da se uradi brzo renoviranje kao prosli put kada se za kratko vreme letelo sa Batajnice.. Da bi se izbeglo dugotrajno zatvaranje aerodroma, zato hitno mora da se izgradi druga da bi se ova prva posle temeljno rekonstruisala
Na mnogim mestima po svetu (Frankfurt, San Dijego itd) svake noci se zatvarala pista i deo po deo povrsinskog sloja se obnavljao. A da ce druga pista "pod hitno" da se napravi, to ne moze preko noci.
DeleteAir Serbia should open flights to Plovdiv in Bulgaria !
ReplyDeleteIt would fit perfectly into its Balkan network for transfers
via Belgrade.
The city is big and wonderful with its Roman ruins and amphiteatres!
There are only direct flights to London and Frankfurt,which is pathetic.
Air Serbia could really make an impact here.
Nepotrebno je ponavljati neminovnost izgradnje treceg terminal, druge piste, novog kargo centra... Ocigledno je da se vremenski ceka da se maksimaizuje vrednost aerodroma. Do sada se pokazalo da se u izgradnji, prosirenju objekata na arodromu neefektivno i dugo gradilo. To je prosto tradicija u sprezi sa bolno dugim odlukama, mesanjem politike, aferama koje su povecavali cenu gradnje...Sto se duze oteze sa pocetkom gradnje, vise miliona ce kostati. Nedopustivo je da ceo projekat ne bude potpuno spreman, predat ivestitoru-koncesionaru u toku 2015 godine. To je zadnja godina od kada bi morali kranovi da budu vidljivi izmedju Terminala Dva i prilaznog puta na aerodrom. Predsedik Vlade, Gospodin Vucic je i sam rekao da ce pronaci investitora u iducoj godini. Za sest, sedam meseci videce se stvarnost. Zivot je realnost. Izgovorena rec je obaveza kojom se potvrdjuje istina. Prime Mminister Vucic. your turn! U dobroj veri da ce te ispuniti sto zajedno sa Vasim timom projektujete. ostaje nada sa verom 2015 bude godina pocetka potpune transformacije Srpse vazdusne raskrsnice ANT- BEG.
ReplyDeleteNajvece u zadnjih 53 godine. Ako gresim oprostite. Ako istinu govorim radujte se samnom. Ko moze i zeli. Ko nezeli neka u tome uziva.
Rod & associated in trust. Kraljevo /// Sydney.
+1 Rođo
DeleteAdmin, you quoted Belgrade major from the interview he gave to Elevate, Air Serbia inflight magazine, but missed to credit the publication. It's not the best media practice.
ReplyDeleteWho cares?
DeleteIP and copyright law cares, that's who ..
DeleteApologies for the omission. It has been corrected.
DeleteДобро је што сте ставили тај извор јер сад можемо да се насмејемо другим изјавама из тог чланка. Мене је највише насмејало ово: "Циљ нам је да кад дође време, летимо два пута дневно у све градове региона".
DeleteПошто је у следећој реченици поменуо Загреб и Приштину, изгледа да је под регионом мислио екс Ју. Неко је морао да га обавести да је план већ пребачен 50% у случају Подгорице са 3 дневна лета у зимској сезони. Да не говоримо да неко са МБА из Америке ваљда треба да погледа бројке пре него што пожели 2 дневна лета за све градове (ваљда је мислио аеродроме а не градове?) из региона. Рецимо 2 дневна лета за Ријеку па још у зимској сезони немају никаквог економског оправдања. А тек ако је хтео каже да ће летети два пута дневно на остале аеродроме из региона као што су Ниш, Тузла или Осијек, тек ме то ме доводи до суза! Јесам довољно стар да се сећам кад је ЈАТ летео из Београда за Осијек, али то се више неће десити. Сва срећа Ер Србија има разумне људе који доносе одлуке о томе.
Jos gore ako je pod regionom mislio na Balkan, zamisli 14x weekly BEG to TSR, DEB, PDV, VOL etc
DeleteAdmin, it would be fair to react and credit Elevate, the inflight magazine of Air Serbia. Not only for this article, but also for the one published on your page 13th October: Air Serbia forecasts one million euro profit in 2014.
ReplyDeleteAll of us that visit regularly this page appreciate your work, but it would be even more relevant if you could name your sources, at least in cases like this. Otherwise, it would go on your account that your professional behavior is not correct. Other people worked on collecting that information, and it would be fair to credit their work. As an expat, international guy, I am sure you can understand that request and distance yourself from comments such is left by Anonymous on October 16, 2014 at 8:05 AM
Apologies for the omission. It has been corrected.
Delete