Serbia to limit airport growth outside Belgrade

Serbia will cap passenger growth at its secondary airports on a temporary basis as part of the 25-year concession agreement for Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport with France's VINCI worth 1.2 billion euros. Despite initially denying that limitations would be imposed on the number of travellers outside the capital, the Serbian government has now admitted that figures will be confined to one million passengers for each airport in the country within a 230 kilometre radius of Belgrade until Nikola Tesla Airport reaches twelve million travellers per year. However, the government argues it is unlikely for any secondary airport to get to this figure before the country's busiest achieves its target. Conversely, VINCI would be either subject to a cut in its annual concession fee to the state or the concession itself would be extended past the 25-year period, Zoran Ilić, the Assistant Minister for Air Transport at the Ministry for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, told the "Aljazeera Balkans" network.

The move could limit growth at Niš's Constantine the Great Airport, which last year handled 331.582 passengers. The city has been hit by a wave of protests over the government's plan to take over the airport's operations from local authorities. However, the state maintains that Niš will continue to develop under its management and is unlikely to reach the million passenger mark before Belgrade welcomes twelve million travellers in one year. According to estimates published by Niš Airport last year, it anticipates handling 650.000 passengers in 2021. On the other hand, VINCI has set a target for Belgrade to welcome at least seven million travellers per year by 2024 and ten million by 2030.

On the other hand, the Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, has rebuked her assistant and noted that limiting airport growth has not been formalised as part of the concession agreement, which will be made public upon the financial close of the deal sometime between September and November. In a statement, Ms Mihajlović said, "Every airport in Serbia should and must develop in line with market conditions. The concession agreement for Belgrade Airport states the need for "consultations" with the concessionaire only and exclusively until Nikola Tesla Airport reaches twelve million passengers per year and if any other airport within a radius of 150 to 230 kilometres handles over one million travellers per year. However, it is of utmost importance to note that both conditions must first be met for this to happen". She added, "Based on all the analysis we have carried out, such a scenario will not occur because Belgrade Airport will be handling twelve million passengers per year long before Niš welcomes its millionth traveller in a single year. Despite this, in the event that Niš reaches one million before Belgrade handles twelve million, Serbia has no obligation to automatically pay out any damages to the concessionaire. In such case, the government will have a duty to explain and prove to the concessionaire that the figures were achieved as a result of objective market trends which have no affect on Belgrade Airport, thereby avoiding any compensation or an extension of the duration of the concession".