TRIP REPORT | INDEX
Route: Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport – Skopje International Airport
Trip taken: October 2019
Scheduled Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
There are days when traveling from Belgrade to Skopje could be particularly difficult - mainly because of the late night flight from Nikola Tesla Airport. Luckily, the day for my trip was Tuesday - and Air Serbia's flight on that day is scheduled during the day.
Online check-in has become a regular procedure for the Serbian national carrier from Belgrade, so it was only baggage drop-off that remains as a task at the airport. Since there are few Air Serbia flights at this time of day, the counters were empty, so the procedure was smooth and quick.
Passengers who still had to check-in could do the entire procedure at the self check-in counters. The ground staff proved to be very helpful in those instances.
Having in mind the recent changes at Nikola Tesla Airport, it is obvious that the transitional period is still taking place. Passengers using toilets for men at the departures hall don't get soap from the dispenser on the wall, instead a rather temporary solution is used.
The change was also visible with the security scan, that was now performed with a more advanced machine at the A4b gate. It is not the classic metal detector any longer, it is now the machine that consists of two panels requiring you to stand with your hands up. Flying to Skopje with the ATR72 is usual business for Air Serbia. YU-ALO was parked far from the airport building, so the transfer from gate A4b was done by a single bus, which was very crowded.
Flight JU162 took off from Belgrade right on time. The weather was perfect, so the flight was as smooth as possible. On board, it was interesting to see how the safety labels were removed from all the tables. Also, Air Serbia's improved service included two biscuits and a tiny bottle of water.
We arrived in Skopje a few minutes before scheduled. The Air Serbia cabin crew had certain difficulties to persuade several passengers to remain seated until the seat belt sign was switched off as some people jumped off their seats the moment the plane touched the ground.
Walking on the tarmac from the ATR72 is common at Skopje International Airport. This time, it also included the opportunity to see the logo of Jat Tehnika, the company that is still unsuccessfully being offered to potential investors.
Flying Air Serbia to Skopje on Tuesdays was far easier than flying on the same route on Mondays. Picking up a rent-a-car at the airport was as easy as the flight itself so JU162 proved to be the easiest way to get from Serbian to North Macedonian capital.
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Cute trip report, thank you. Who were the passengers on the flight? Interesting that your plane was parked on the B platform. I love it because it allows you to take really nice picture of the A gates which are usually full at that hour.
ReplyDelete"who were the passengers on the flight?" Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Brad Pitt..... Hahaha, you made my day thank you!
DeleteThank you! How far was the walk from the airplane to the terminal? I see JU will have 8 weekly this winter, wasn't it 6 last year?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/09/air-serbia-boosts-regional-operations.html
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