The opening of Užice Ponikve Airport, in western Serbia, scheduled for late August, has been delayed after little work was done on erecting a perimeter fence and installing a new lighting system over the summer. In April, the airport opened a new passenger terminal and overhauled its apron. According to local authorities, the opening has been delayed as the finances required to complete the work were miscalculated and additional funding will be needed. "It turns out that an additional three million euros are required. The formation of the [Serbian] government over the past two months has also slowed things down", the Mayor of Užice, Tihomir Petković, said. He added, "However, we are not giving up on the project. Realistically, work will not be completed this year, but it is important that it starts this year and is completed in 2017".
Užice Airport was destroyed during the 1999 NATO bombing. However, the Serbian government and the European Union have jointly invested over one million euros into the creation of a project masterplan, while significant funds were put into the removal of unexploded bombs around the airport's runway. Its control tower was reopened in 2013 following a major overhaul by the Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services Agency, while Belgrade Airport also donated funds. "We were recently contacted by an investment fund from Saudi Arabia that is interested in buying the airport. The fund sent a contract and asked us for an offer. We have requested for the government to make a decision because it should not be up to us to decide whether it is in the state's interest to sell the airport and we are not certain whether this is a feasible option at this time", Mr Petković said.
Earlier this year, the General Manager of Užice Airport, Saša Savić, said, "There is interest for flights, especially from foreign tourists who would like to visit nearby Zlatibor Mountain and Mokra Gora. We are already in talks with a local hotel in Zlatibor and have discussed the possibility of operating promotional charters to several European countries (Cyprus, Greece, Russia and Slovenia) with both smaller and larger aircraft, including Boeing jets with the capacity to seat 150 passenger". He added, "If these prove successful, we hope to have regular charter flights next year. At this point, we are partially ready to handle passengers. By the end of August a perimeter fence will be erected, a lighting system will be installed, which will allow aircraft to use the airport at low visibility, and we will then be fully equipped to welcome travellers".
The Užice region is home to some of Serbia's most exported goods. However, it is also close to several major cities in the former Yugoslavia, with Sarajevo and Belgrade just 118 kilometres away. During the 1996 summer season, JAT Yugoslav Airlines operated a two weekly Belgrade - Užice - Tivat service. Over the past few years, small private aircraft have used the airport during the daytime. Užice is Serbia's thirteenth largest city and the administrative centre of the Zlatibor District. It has a fairly developed road and rail network. The entire redevelopment of the airport is valued at nineteen million euros. Questions have been raised whether the project is viable, following the construction of a modern passenger terminal in Kraljevo, in central Serbia in 2012, which has not been used since.
Serbia seems to be putting out really nice terminals which many airports in ex-Yu would be happy to have. Unfortunately they are just sitting there with no one to use them.
ReplyDeleteThis seems so fishy. "Miscalculated" funding. Perhaps someone put some money in their pocket and now there is not enough for a fence and lighting system.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteComplete waste of money this airport....
ReplyDeleteWas the entire runway renovated in Uzice?
ReplyDeleteАеродром Ужице је био само пропагандни пројекат назадне странке током изборне кампање. Избори прошли, паре уместо у цигле и бетон завршиле у сендвичима, па тако до следећих избора и нове лажне наде залудном свету
ReplyDeleteZato su ovi tvoji odradili posao na Kraljevu-Moravi za medalju, jel? Sedi jedan, isti ste samo su sendviči različiti.
DeleteAnon. 13.52, odmah požurio da opravda one koji su napravili zbrku sa Užicem.
Delete"We were recently contacted by an investment fund from Saudi Arabia that is interested in buying the airport."
ReplyDeleteWhy would they be interested in the airport? What's the point. Although the mayor does not seem optimistic about it.
And the next thing they will announce is that Morava Airport will not be opened by the end of the year like they announced.
ReplyDeleteAs expected.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know they have built a terminal building. Looks very decent.
ReplyDeleteIt looks nice but it won't work as I expected.
DeleteOT
ReplyDeleteTK has announced massive cuts for the upcoming winter season. Ex-YU reductions are as follow:
PRN 14->10 weekly
SJJ 14->10 weekly
ZAG 14->10 weekly
So far no other destination will see cuts.
TK puca po savovima, leteo pre nedelju dana BEG -IST-AMS i nazad. Sva cetiri leta su bila na oko 70 posto popunjenosti, BEG IST jos i dobro stojao na jezu u avionu za AMS
Deletegood news for QR and FZ
DeleteLots of airlines either cancel or decrease their operations from PRN. I am wondering how this will influence their battle with SKP for the 5th busiest airport in EX-YU.
DeleteAny link for the list, Nemjee? Am curious as for the other destinatons globally.
Deletehttp://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/
DeleteThese cuts are massive!
Ah, found on routesonline!
DeleteQR in ZAG will be glad to see this! And they upgraded their daily to A321 for the winter the other day.
DeleteI don't think this will be such phenomenal news for QR or FZ. Let's not forget that unlike the two, TK still has a lot of O&D passengers which push overall yield up. They will still have a lot of flexibility with 10 weekly frequencies.
DeleteAlso, just because QR increased ZAG doesn't mean their flights are full. They've recently increased LCA to double daily and loads are still around 65%. That said, I am not saying their planes in/out ZAG are empty but I wouldn't be surprised if the A321s don't depart completely full.
However, this whole meltdown at TK only goes to prove that their growth was everything but organic.
Well, no airline or route runs full flights year round for that matter. Anyway, QR probably has some idea why new capacity on ZAG and not used on some other route using that aircraft. We can presume there are some basis for that investment.
DeleteGiven that QR is experiencing fleet shortage who knows.
DeleteIf they had enough A320s then I am sure they would have gone for a frequency upgrade rather than an upgauge.
I am sure they have decent loads but just because they increased it to an A321 doesn't mean they are flying with 170+ passengers per flight, especially not in November or February.
We will have to see what they do by the summer season. Maybe they just end up keeping the same equipment and frequencies.
Their planes are full all the time. Most of 100.000 Korean and 40.000 Japanese tourist in Zagreb comes with them. Plane is always full of them.
DeleteTheir plan is to have 7x A321 and 3 A320 during winter and that will become 7x A321 and 7x A320 during summer 2017. In winter 2017 some of those frequencies will be changed to 787.
Thank you. Aren't there charters that bring these Koreans or are these in addition to the ones that come with direct flights?
DeleteZAG would be 14 weekly already if it wasnt for fleet shortage based on 320s, 321s are not usually intended because they also have some 30 seats payload on DOH ZAG leg to make it non stop. Their summer loads are around 90% to 95%. Winter is lower. Double daily service should commence by summer next year, however it is unlikely that ZAG will see wide body; maybe in pure summer peak, but otherwise no need for such massive capacity since double daily will be in place.
DeleteWell from the year when QR introduce flight to Zagreb they were always increase Zagreb service every next season. I believe they will introduce widebody such as A320 or B787 in the near future on it's morning flight to Zagreb, and another one in afternoon will be still with A32O.
Delete*such as A330 or B787
DeleteNemjee - O&D traffic doesn't push yields up. Infact, it has the opposite effect - it actually pushes yields down. Selling a BEGPEK pax gives you much less than does separately selling 2 pax a BEGIST and ISTPEK fare. What you probably meant to say is that it gives you more REVENUE than would a BEGIST pax as apposed to a BEGPEK pax.
DeleteThere's a HUGE difference between yield and revenue - i thought you would/should know that.
Nemjee refers to O&D as P2P. Although technically BEG PEK can also be called as O&D if booked as single travel. P2P usually does push yield up for that matter.
DeleteO&D are also called p2p so that's someone flying BEG-PEK or ZAG-IST.
DeleteA transfer passengers is someone who flies TGD-BEG-JFK. Anon 19.43 understood the point I was trying to make.
O&D/p2p are usually higher yielding than transfer passengers.
o&d nisu transferi.
DeleteSurprise surprise. Another failed project.
ReplyDelete"Miscalculated"
ReplyDeletehahahah
suuuuuuure
With the rise of low cost airlines I don't think you should write off an airport. If the a good deal is made a LCC could fly there instead of say Belgrade or Nis. Like the article says, road infrastructure and rail infrastructure is quite good there. The issue is corrupt politicians.
ReplyDeleteIt's "perimeter fence", not "parameter fence".
ReplyDeleteI dok se ministarstvo bavi najavama i odlaganjem najava INI raste... verovatno zato što ga ministarstvo ne razvija... ne bi me začudilo da vidimo neku od kompanija koje su obustavile operacije u PRN na INI...vrlo brzo
ReplyDeleteDakle napravismo dva terminala koji putnika ne videše. Ma mi smo genijalci. Bravo. Još samo da napravimo spejšatl aerodrom na Vršcu.
ReplyDeleteDefinitivno da ce tri aerodroma, Centralne, Zapadne i Juzne Srbije zaziveti oformljenu kompaniju "Aerodromi Srbije''. Nis je na putu da postane samo odrziv. Kraljevo i Uzice stalno su pod stigmom odlaganja, inkopetentnih ljudi u resavanju problema. Kraljevacki aerodrome Morava kasni vec je Peta godina. Uzicki mu se priblizuje. Auto put kod Preljine kasni Cetrdeset dana!?... Centralna Srbijo! Wath going on?! Do septembra ove tekuce 2016 godine stoje obecanja cetiri i ova peta vlada Otadzbine Srbije bez otvorene u petu godinu zaslog Aerodroma Morava. Od septembra do decembra ova vlada je ponovo podigla nadu. Mozda ne samo meni... Mozda samo meni?. Bilo kako. Kada sletim u Srbiju do decembra, da li cu videti skinutu kapiju i da definitivno terminal, tarmac i parking budu u civilnim rukama, ostaje da se vidi. Meni i mnogima ostaje vera da ljudi kada pocnu, da i zavrse posao. A ljudima koji obecaju da zavrse. Ne za pet godina, vec za iducih Devedeset Dana. Vera ostaje. Ostalo je do politicara, finansija, odgovornosti, organizacije... Moravo, Ponikve, red je na vas. Pa I na mene. Da ucutim. Rodney of Baggery Creek Airport under proposal. ✈R+✈.
ReplyDeleteWath going on?Engleski na nivou,takodje i poznavanje bilo koje logike,ali INN-NS je mala maca za ovog...
DeleteA jel ti znaš kad se koristi razmak?
DeleteOcigledno nostalgija cini svoje... al ajde da pogledamo malo tu novoformiranu drzavnu firmu `Aerodromi Srbije`, osnivacki ulog drzave 500 dinara, imovina 0, zaposlenih 2, budzetska pozicija 10 mil. dinara, taman za 2 dobre plate i racune za kancelariju. Sta je to? Ko je to napravio i koja je svrha takvog preduzeca? Aerodromi u Beogradu i Nisu nisu prihvatili i nisu usli u tkz Aerodrome Srbije, ne mogu ni Kraljevo ni Uzice jer su u vlasnistvu vojske i opstine. Aerodrom Beograd ide u koncesiju, Nis ide svojim putem koji bas nikakve veze nema sa drzavom niti sa interesima Er Srbije, a narocito ne sa tim Aerodromima Srbije dok Kraljevo i Uzice treba da namaknu milione evra da bi uopste dosli u situaciju da bilo ko moze da leti sa tih tkz civilnih aerodroma. Ocigledno da u Srbiji ima vise posebnih faktora koji uticu na razvoj vazdusnog saobracja, jedan je direktno vezan za premijera i njemu bliske ljude i oni rade Er Srbiju i Aerodrom Beograd, drugi je ministarstvo saobracaja i Aerodromi Srbije kojima su puna usta najava za Moravu a tamo se ama bas nista ne desava i nije mi jasno na osnovu cega uopste o tome pricaju, i treca u Nisu, koja je dosla bukvalno niotkuda i za godinu dana napravila hit u regionu i usput ono sto je meni i najinteresantnije, nisam stekao utisak da ih je briga za misljenje Beograda. Dobra je ova konkurencija i vidi se ko zna da radi a ko daje izjave. Tako da od Aerodroma Srbije, kako stvari stoje za sada, nema nista, jos jedno mesto za bacanje drzavnih para.
DeleteBy the time they're ready to open it, the terminal will need repairs... Kreteni
ReplyDeleteBy the time they're ready to open it, Vuckos son Vuc Ko Jun will have successfully inherited the leadership of his wise and almighty father and will name the airport in his honour.
DeleteBut what if all these airports (Ponikve, Kraljevo, Niš) could work with LCC serving gastarbajter routes? Perhaps even a few legacy carriers to places like VIE, ZRH, IST? Or JU having several daily flights with small turboprops to BEG for transfers and p2p? I don't know, I'm not Serbian, just assking/trying to start a discussion.
ReplyDeleteNot a bad plan.
Delete