Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is at a crossroads as it undergoes the biggest infrastructure redevelopment and expansion since its opening, while continuing its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Its General Manager, Francois Berisot, told EX-YU Aviation News, “Belgrade Airport’s pace of recovery, even during the pandemic, was above the regional and EU average. The local market has shown a great resilience to restrictions and people were ready to actively travel again as soon as the first opportunity arose, both for business and leisure. The year 2022 is very dynamic as almost all destinations from 2019 have been restored and as many as sixteen new routes have been added, out of which our national carrier, Air Serbia, has eight. If we take into account charter flights to the most popular summer destinations this season, we offer more than 100 destinations from Belgrade Airport. Thanks to all these efforts, we are currently trading at circa 85% of 2019 traffic levels”.
Commenting on the arrival of new airlines, and the airport’s potential to attract several major European legacy carriers which do not currently serve the Serbian capital, Mr Berisot, said, “We observe how the market is developing, as well as customer demand, in order to grow the destination network and connectivity. Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is already well connected to major European hubs with several large legacy companies present. We are in regular contact with other carriers and are open for cooperation. Still, it comes down to the airline’s decision whether to introduce flights, based on their business plans”.
Air Serbia is set to expand its long haul network over the coming months, with the airport working together with the national carrier, as well as foreign airlines, to further develop its offer of far-away destinations. “Development of long haul traffic is of course beneficial to the airport, passengers, the market as a whole and the region. Demand to North America is almost at pre-pandemic levels. It exists for the Far East as well, but it’s necessary for the markets to open up for easier travel. China’s Hainan Airlines has already launched weekly Belgrade - Beijing nonstop flights in July”, Mr Berisot said. He added, “Air Serbia’s hub strategy is aligned with Belgrade Airport’s efforts to support long haul traffic. The national carrier already announced plans for the introduction of flights to Chicago, in April of next year, and for additional services to New York. Of course, we are in constant talks with all the companies that could potentially serve the existing demand for intercontinental flights. Major infrastructure works at the airport are aimed at supporting traffic growth and our expansion program is adding both landside and airside capacity. VINCI Airports is pursuing its proactive policy to boost traffic and to meet passengers’ expectations by accelerating further improvements at Nikola Tesla Airport”.
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| Central processor building under construction
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| Access plateau redevelopment |
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| Gate reconstruction |
Earlier this year, the airport opened the extension of its C Pier, while work is ongoing on major projects including the central processor facility, access roads and the inserted runway. “Our passengers, partners and employees have given us very positive feedback on the new extension of the terminal, as it brings many improvements both in terms of comfort and processes. This area is a showcase of how the whole terminal will look like in the foreseeable future. The first commercial and food and beverage facility in Pier C has already opened. Certain commercial premises are tied to the deadlines for the final completion of other works in the terminal, due to contracts with operators who will manage facilities at multiple locations. According to the VINCI Airports concept, which is applied across the network, the focus is on showcasing local offers mixed with globally renowned brands”, Mr Berisot explained. He added, “Our new arrivals floor has enabled us to introduce the open-gate concept in existing parts of our terminal building, which has already paved the way for new F&B and retail offers. The next reconstruction and extension phases will bring a brand-new commercial plaza in the central terminal building and additional space for the introduction of various content. This will materialise in the course of 2023”.
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| New food & beverage facility at Pier A |
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| New food & beverage facility at Pier C |
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| New retail facility at Pier A |
Construction work has been ongoing on the redevelopment of the entire area in front of terminal building since November 2021. “The complete reconfiguration, upgrade and improvement of the access road system will enable faster entry and more efficient traffic flow and will increase capacity for short-term and long-term parking. Parking lots will be equipped with a LED lighting system and chargers for electric vehicles. There will also be “Premium parking spaces” available and additional parking spaces for passengers with reduced mobility. This will significantly improve the quality of service, comfort, and accessibility. The works are being undertaken in phases, and we expect for landside contact car parks and access roads to be completed before the next summer season in 2023”, Mr Berisot said. He noted, “Regarding the inserted runway, final works are in progress, and it is expected to be completed at the end of 2022 and put into operation in Q1 of 2023, while reconstruction of the existing runway is to be completed by the end of 2023. Once that is done, the inserted runway will remain in use as a parallel taxiway, and it will contribute to the increase of airport operational capacities”.
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I'm pretty happy with the pace of the work. Good to see that the area in front of the terminal will be completed by summer 23. I assume that's when the central processor building will open.
ReplyDeleteHope they bring another airline for long haul as well.
ReplyDeleteI believe that major airports like BEG should primarily support their national airlines and give them more favorable terms and conditions than to foreign/low cost carriers.
DeleteJU gets plenty of support from all parties involved.
DeleteHow many new airlines in general has VINCI brought since they started operating the airport?
DeleteFrom what I can remember: KLM, Luxair, Eurowings, Air France, Hainan, AnadoluJet and El Al (came and left)
DeleteThat's not bad actually
DeleteSecond biggest airport in Serbia "Konstantin the Grate" should be included in the international transportation.
DeleteThey should put a bit more focus on Africa. Other than charters to Tunisia and Egypt, there is nothing.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAfrica is generally ignored by ex-Yu states and markets which is a shame. It holds huge travel potential.
It doesn’t
DeleteSouth Africa could be nice route.
DeleteI hope that Wizz will expand as well and base more planes in BEG.
ReplyDelete+1000
DeleteIf only local stakeholders would allow Ryanair to start operations in Belgrade - they would have 50+ destinations in 2-3 years!
DeleteLOL MM, as if Wizz, Easy, Vueling, Eurowings, Norwegian etc are not offering tens of destinations from BEG already! We saw what happened in ZAG - Ryan came to ZAG but BEG is growing passenger traffic faster.
DeleteBEG will be unrecognizable
ReplyDeleteIt really is a transformation.
DeleteLet's see if they manage to attract some new customers to go with the new infrastructure.
ReplyDeleteI think the main goal will be helping Air Serbia grow significantly in the next few years.
DeleteIt will be quite a track getting from C14 gate to A10. Will the A pier also get the automated walkway?
ReplyDeleteAnd also the old part of C pier?
DeleteHopefully. It is a very long track from one part of the airport to the other. Even the staff are using electric scooters
DeleteCan't wait for the project to be completed.
ReplyDeleteFrom the statement, it seems that there will be some chain restaurants at the airport. But we will have to wait for the new building to be completed.
ReplyDeleteMuch needed.
DeleteHopefully Kaфетерија ditches the cart and opens a cafe at the airport. Even though I don't like them, I wouldn't be surprised if Starbucks opens a shop at BEG.
DeleteI think Starbucks will come for sure. When they opened their first store in Belgrade they issued some press release about how many stores they plan to open and they mentioned the airport.
DeleteIndeed, I think they mentioned a total of 11 stores.
DeleteIn many airports around the world they have shops at arrivals so who knows, maybe they do the same in BEG.
The arrivals area is definitely going to get larger. Actually, there is room for them to turn the new ground level hall leading up to passport control into a duty free shop. Many airports have that and it is a good way to get people to buy something since you can't go around it to get to passport control.
DeleteThe open concept is great
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that the gates A6-A10 are finally under reconstruction. When were they last renovated? If ever?
ReplyDeleteIt has been 40 years or more.
DeleteI think they had the design from the 1980s as they were not reconstructed with the rest of the A and C gates in the early 2000s. By the end they were quite literally falling apart.
DeleteWhat remains to be seen is what will they do with the A10 gate which was improvised and from what I know added at a later stage.
^ Some renders were published here a while back for this area
Deletehttps://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitHT7y0XFBBRVEfodJO0m1MwebyCcYiKqm1HNSwGTSV13Ge9R98EPkr3Q-Md_29RCC13e7hsDu3EHmQE_3V9PtPp_HMG1W9dFBWCo55uY2qCrcku6bB1UhzSX6M8VAjXSrkskbhzugbJ4jn53jR3rXAnPu6i1VL3rUiQ3JcwOIv3eWCtoFd11be-1gEw/s2150/BEG_Signage_FeaturedImage.jpg
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Seems A10 will remain a small gate.
DeleteAh yes, I remember these, thanks for the reminder. I guess now that they have an open gate concept they can afford to leave it. God, I remember some years back when BEG published their own proposal for the reconstruction of that area. Looked kind of depressing. So happy they didn't go ahead with these plans. There was an article on here about it.
DeleteI guess they will use the entire area of the corridor with the open concept so it will be a bit larger but there will still be a partition so they can separate the arriving passengers to go upstairs.
DeleteBEG, JU and W6 will profit the most from the stable economic situation in Serbia. With access to cheap gas, Serbian economy will be able to survive the upcoming winter season and to avoid a recession. Serbian aviation will massively profit from this.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling their VLC flights are doing really well. The other day I was looking for flights for mid-October and JU charges over 50.000 Dinars with luggage for that period. Hopefully this route matures over time and gets extra frequencies next summer.
I think all the flights to Spain are performing well. The Wizz Air flights to Barcelona are doing really well too.
DeleteThe only issue is airplanes use oil and there's huge issue with oil just around the corner (sanctions on Russian oil, dominantly used here). Furthermore, electricity prices for industry are getting higher. Gas price is good, but all other energy prices will be problematic, so I wouldn't count on stable situation during winter.
DeleteRoughly 20% of Serbian oil comes from Russia so it's not the end of the world. Also, electricity prices will rise slightly so there won't be a major disruption on the market.
DeleteAlso, don't forget that for industry natural gas is key, not oil. Serbian GDP rose by over 4% in Q2 which was very good. Overall there is no deep crisis on the horizon which is very good.
Furthermore, don't forget that JU can massively profit from western European airlines struggling. Just yesterday SK requested for 11 leases to be terminated among which are those for A350s and A330s. I believe 2 A350s and 3 A333s, overall they plan on shrinking their fleet by 11 planes. That's roughly 10% of their fleet.
Noone said it's the end of world, but 20% is not a little. The substitute is more expensive so this will increase the oil prices, which are already huge. The electricity prices are not future, they're already increased for industry from 1st September (from 75 eur to 95 eur, that's also not the end of the world, but it's not a little, again). Not to mention the actual prices the state is buying electricity abroad which also has to be paid (from state budget).
DeleteIt's not the end of world, but it's not roses and butterflies. Too many times we considered crisis as our opportunity. It never materialised, cause the crisis in Europe = crisis in Serbia, we're not far away island.
Petrol prices are high because of government taxes (акцизе) so the government can lower them if they wish to, like they already did once a few months/weeks ago.
DeleteAll these increases are not going to be have a crippling effect on the Serbian economy which is what matters the most. Yes, costs will rise slightly but so far we have not seen any major disruptions.
Serbian economy has been in a constant state of crisis for the past 30 years. It's our modus operandi and everyone is used to it. Like I said, I expect the situation to remain stable which will be great for the Serbian aviation sector. If Euro keeps on falling then it will be even cheaper to travel abroad. The situation might be unpredictable but it's far from tragic especially compared to some other countries on the continent.
Just to give you an indication of how things are in some EU countries, our electricity bill in Cyprus was usually around 450 Euros per month. You know what it is now? It's 1.200 Euros.
I get it, but you have to know electricity bill is same here, it's just not covered by you but state. That's good for you but that means less state money for something else (maybe Air Serbia?), all while mega rich people pay subsidized prices which I don't find nor fair nor sustainable in the long run and it seems this is gonna be long run. Let's see.
DeleteWell after a decade in operation it's time for Air Serbia to depend less and less on the government for subsidies. I mean if you can't turn a profit after ten years then there is something fundamentally wrong with you.
DeleteAs for the Serbian economy, there are many things which make little sense, starting with our tax system. However the stronger the private sector gets, the better.
Fully agree.
DeleteI disagree with Nemjee on the electricity issue. Prices will go up slightly up, yes, but indirectly taxpayers will pay billions of euros for the import of electricity as the national electricity company has been ruined in the past 5-10 years due to huge incompetence and it will take at least 5 years to recover, given that they start doing their job TODAY. There is a huge electricity problem in Serbia, city lights are being turned off randomly in Novi Sad every night, which is unheard of since the 90s
DeleteAll ture. There will be more and more electricity shortages, plus more expensive in the future.
DeleteProsecutor's office not interested in this multi-billion euro issue with EPS? I'm following closely current INA situation in Croatia, things like this go to trial over there. Goes to show state of our democracy, I guess...
DeleteHow is it related to Belgrade Airport's development which is the topic of the article?
DeleteYeah, we kinda floated off topic.
DeleteEPS has been mismanaged for decades and electricity charges will be slightly increased. This whole story with electricity prices reminds me of this stupid situation with milk where unnecessary hysteria was created.
DeleteIt's indirectly related to this topic as inflation affects purchasing power. The more disposable income people have, the more they can spend on traveling abroad by plane.
Kinda stretching it a bit with the disposable income theory.
Deletegreat to see so many projects and that they are all on schedule. Good work.
ReplyDeleteThe first picture actually makes me sad. The airports and sorroundings in developed countries are full of logistic companies, industry,... but in Belgrade there will be safari area with old airplanes around the airport instead.
ReplyDeleteLOL you should travel more.
DeleteHe doesn't have to travel more, he just needs to travel 5 km west of the airport. That whole area is covered with warehouses and logistics companies, they expanded so much that there are some even after tolls in the direction towards Ruma. Belgrade has more or less absorbed Stara Pazova which is also full with warehouses.
DeletePlease go to Pazova Banovci Batajnica and Inđija :)
DeleteI would highly recommend that Fraport Slovenija management books a flight to BEG, takes notebooks with them (doubt they have electronic ones, as they still live in early 20th Century), and takes a whole day (or maybe two) tour and absorbs everything. Maybe picks some negotiation tips along the way. With so much ta take in, I hope they can bring something useful back.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I think the new terminal at LJU is nice. But they should do a better job at filling it with passengers.
DeleteDe gustibus non est disputandum, but nevertheless, I kindly disagree with you. It is hideous construction mistake without any soul, substance or is at the end of the day improvement over the old one in terms of increased capacity. It has same number of gates, security checks, just more spacious so it can swallow more people per hour. I kinda like socialist modernist usage of concrete in exYu, but this new terminal is just plain functional ugly brutalism, and poorly built on top of everything. Half finished concrete pillars and ceilings...no thank you.
DeleteIs there any particular system of which airlines get to board from the C pier or its just random?
ReplyDeleteRandom
DeleteThe airport coordinator is deciding on the gates.
DeleteThere really isn't that much difference in what gate you are given. They are more or less the same. The difference was with the A9-A10 gates but those are now closed for reconstruction.
DeleteThey used to put Wizz often on A9 and A10.
DeleteI believe they are currently testing the equipment. This process takes some time.
ReplyDeleteLooking in what was done till now at BEG I wouldn't say that this is biggest infrastructure redevelopment and expansion since its opening, because in 70s totally new terminal was opened, first time gates, runway extension, garage....
ReplyDeleteIt is the biggest expansion. The new area that is being built is larger than Terminal 2. They are also building a new runway, new car park has been open and more car parks are under construction, the entire access road is being moved. Not to mention they are building an entire new floor above the building. Definitely bigger than the project in the 70s.
DeleteWasn't the new terminal opened in 1981?
DeleteI think this time around the size of the investment is much larger than back then. BEG got another runway (inserted one), a new control tower, a much larger terminal expansion, new parking and so on.
However, just like in the 1980s, this investment was needed so as to fully modernize the airport and to bring it up to current aviation standards.
New terminal was opened 1979.
DeleteSorry, it seems it was built from 1979 until 1981.
DeleteIn September 1979, the new terminal building was opened, covering an area of 33.000 square meters, air bridges were used for the first time, the runway was extended by 400 m, a new airport platform was also built, over 100.000 square meters, an open parking lot for passenger cars with 1.700 positions and a garage for 547 cars were built ........
DeleteCan we not get the taxi mafia under control? Is it so hard to get the police, airport security, and whoever else is needed to get an orderly system?
ReplyDeleteTerrible first impression for foreigners landing at BEG.
The other day taxi booth was empty at 20h and the taxi guy upstairs told me "everyone gives 2500 rsd for that distance". In front of comunal policeman who just checks if they're taking clients orderly. Bad, bad, bad.
DeleteI remember, in the time Vinci started to operate in Belgrade, few taxi drivers told me about their plans how to improve that segment but obviously nothing happened until now.
DeleteBasically, taxi is an issue generally in Belgrade but when in city it is easier to handle.
As far as I know, lot of responsibility is on local authorities city authorities and they are making ground rules for taxi at airport - ie. potential decision to somehow limit how has access to airport, how those taxis should equipped etc. must be done by city government. Airport itself can't make those decision in it's own.
I think they may be waiting for all the construction to be completed. Probably then there will be a formal drop off area, and in a separate area, under airport supervision will be formal taxi pick-up area.
DeleteAt least hopefully.
@Charlie
DeleteThe police have some deal with the taxi mafia in Belgrade. The illegal taxis work in front of police without any issues, both at the airport and in the city.
You also have gypsies in fluorescent vests charging parking fees at zoned parking spots in the city, also in front of police, so practically you pay double for parking. It's been like that at Usce Park, for example, for almost 2 years now. Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't done that at the airport as of yet.
Rule of law is almost non existant in Serbia, police barely do their job while the municipal police do nothing. Expecting the police to do anything about the taxi mafia at the airport is as realistic as expecting to see a unicorn at the airport.
Didn't know that the situation was that bad, that ingrained. But somehow not surprised. I was hopeful that Vinci would clean things up, as all of this is taking place on airport land.
DeleteI have safely used airport taxi in some countries with very high crime rate with no issues. Police may have been absent in some of the gang controlled areas but there was heavy police presence at main airports and taxi service is strictly controlled to support tourism.
DeleteTaxi problems at BEG are not Vinci responsibility, it is lack of strict police enforcement.
I’m very happy that we’re soon going to have beautiful and modern airport. However, there are everlasting problems: taxi mafia (they often refuse to take you to the centre of the city + all those dodgy faces offering taxi drive right after you arrive) and disgusting dirty toilets.
ReplyDeleteDon't know what is this thing with toilets. I was at the airport on Saturday. Used one of the many new toilets that have been built. It was clean and modern.
DeleteUnlike Marek, this guy never tells anything. His interviews are so early 2000s corporate mambo jambo. Up your game, Vinci.
ReplyDeleteI used to the airport four times in the last month and although there are huge improvements I would take issue with the way they are managing the exterior. It's organised chaos outside the terminal with cars not being able to find where to drop people off and it's hard to even find the way onto the motorway. It just all strikes me as very lazily planned and poorly organised. I know it's only temporary but I think that better planning for this stage of outside works should have occurred. As some others have commented the bathrooms even in the new parts are often really disgusting. Overall Belgrade airport should be nice enough once done but I have my reservations about the ways in which it's being renovated and I fear that lots of relics of the past might remain well past the the completion date. The nicest addition is the 'Bistro' cafe. This saves the really really long walk back to the main Tesla Trg if one wants a drink or sandwich.
ReplyDeleteStill, one of the most important things is missing - train station at the airport. Preferably not just the terminus, but mainline branch transit station, so that some of the trains on a Belgrade-Šid line and Belgrade-Novi Sad-Subotica line can also call at the airport station providing service not only from/to Belgrade but to other cities.
ReplyDeleteNot their job of course, but no words about that from anybody for a long time.
They won't link it to the railway network for many years to come if ever. The upgraded novi Sad-Belgrade route would be perfect to be linked to the airport but it would have needed better long term planning than has occurred sadly.
DeleteA loop to the airport on the Bgd-NS rail line would have been expensive but well worth the investment when looking long term.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
Delete+1000 Anon 10.27
DeleteAre they considering a proper hotel nearby? There are so many European capitals that have airport hotels. Also, a rail link to the city centre would be great.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the concessionaire builds the hotel. It is up to the government/city. I remember ZAG concessionaires said the same a few years ago. Of course city promised a hotel but nothing happened
DeleteNo, the government doesn't build hotels anymore, it's up to private investor (who can even be concessionaire or some other entity), just please don't involve state in hotel business (or any business which should be market-based).
DeleteAt least someone can contact the ibis or Accor branch for example. They are usually quite popular around the European airports.
DeleteBesides, if BEG has many transfers it would definitely come very handy to built at least 1 hotel and in collaboration with Serbia Air.
A hotel is definitely needed at the airport. I recently arrived at 00:45 and would have stayed the night in the hotel and catch a train to NS in the morning.
ReplyDeleteBEG could offer frequent bus service to Zemun Rail Station which is only about 12 minutes away, and from there you are 10 from Beograd Central Station (Prokop) and about 30 to Novi Sad. Win win for all!
ReplyDeleteThey really need an overhaul of all public transport in the airport. It's very substandard at the moment with that awful A1 bus and the 72 embarrassing by modern standards.
DeleteTrue dat. Let's hope things change when all the renovations are done.
DeleteI'm not negative person and let's hope just we're hopping for that untill i start flying... also subway have a great route to almost everywhere cause it's imaginary...
DeleteI flew BEG-JFK yesterday. It was amazing to see how much construction activity is going on.
ReplyDeleteHey, good to hear.
DeleteSo what was the LF?
Krasnodar-Belgrade flights seem to have been shelved. Yesterday there was flights advertised from November, today nothing.
ReplyDeleteSochi disappeared too
DeleteThe airport in Krasnodar is closed. It won't reopen until the war is over.
Delete@Anon 19:53
DeleteIt flies to Sochi on Fridays and Sundays during the winter.
All that is great and i approve reconstruction! But please PUT SOME LOVE IN CARGO !!!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous20:24 are you joking? Cargo , import-export of goods! New warehouse, more man power , better equipment, better organization of work process etc. Jesus .....
DeleteSolar off-grid LED lighting for the parking. A huge difference compared to only LED...
ReplyDelete#FonrocheSerbia #BBAi
DeleteAnonymous20:24 are you joking? Cargo , import-export of goods! New warehouse, more man power , better equipment, better organization of work process etc. Jesus .....
DeleteBelgrade is unrecognisable unfortunately in not good way, airport and all included facilities is not easy to do bad job, so many examples already... I would love to be fabulous just i let reality to deal with me not hope or wishful thinking
ReplyDeleteAny news about a possible panorama terrace???
ReplyDeleteSeems like it is an airport for fit people!! Assistance very hard to find but good when it happens except that you still have to end up trying to walk quite a distance in order to get picket up on arrivals.
ReplyDelete