NEWS FLASH
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport has soft launched its new arrivals hall located in the new central processor building which is still under construction. The new arrivals hall offers significantly more space for both arriving passengers and those waiting for them and will feature commercial space, although it is yet to open. The new arrivals hall is still not fully completed but also includes a taxi booth where receipts for fixed prices for taxi services are issued. A taxi station will be located in front of the arrivals hall, although it is still under construction.
Finally. Old arrivals were so small and really bad. It was super cold during winter and overcrowded in the rush hours. I love how the airport is transforming piece by piece.
ReplyDeleteI flew few days ago and I checked toilets, they are really good and clean.... I know it's not a topic, but for those who like to share criticise everything: sorry dudes, you are wrong.
ReplyDeleteClean toilets are essential and a must at every airport. Airports around the globe should focus more on this topic. With todays society you should clean them every 30 minutes
DeleteMunich departure for Balkan and Turkey total disaster in toilets.
DeleteWondering why.
DeleteI am flying to BEG with Swiss operated by AirBaltic, really interested to see AirBaltic's product after reading so much about it online
ReplyDeleteLet us know.
DeleteI flew it to BEG last month. Overall okay, the Swiss chocolate they give you is delicious :)
DeleteHopefully the awful stench of cigarettes will never welcome us again..
ReplyDeleteI don't understand? If you are talking about people smoking outside the terminal, I am yet to find an airport where are no people outside smoking.
DeleteNow already former passport control area, especially immediately behind it, baggage claim area, customs as well as departures.. In all these places you can smell cigarettes. Even toward gates A.. Airport personnel, police officers smoke in their offices or break rooms etc and that's why you can smell it everywhere.
DeleteThat's pure and plain BS. I am NOT a smoker, but take your frustrations elsewhere please.
DeletePassport control personel smokes indoor and it stinks terrible. Not sure about customs, but everytime I pass the passport control it strikes me. Welcome to Serbia.
DeletePeople fart in airplanes too.
DeleteIt is very simple, Stay home if you are that bothered by the cigarette smell. I am non smoker and travel on monthly basis .. never ever had that experience at the BEG airport except outside the arrivals area.
DeleteAlthough yes, in all the countries you can see people smoking outside, in Serbia that's significantly more. On top of that, current solution is semi-closed, so people are technically outside, but given how closed the space is, the smoke just concentrates around the exit door making it more like a smoking lounge than a waiting area.
DeleteIm just curious if they will change exteriors on the all old terminal facades (other than old historic building T1)? If they do not, it will look very cheap along with new exteriors.
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand the position of hydrant in front of arrivals, right in the middle of path.
ReplyDeleteWhere exactly do you see that?
DeleteIt's not on photos, I saw it myself
DeleteBut how can it be in the middle of the path when we see on the photos the middle of the path and there is nothing?
DeleteWhen you exit arrivals and go towards garage, taxi, bus (the only way you can go out of the airport), after 3 meters there's a one meter tall hydrant in the middle of that path. I can't post photo here, but I can send you if you want
DeleteActually, if you zoom photo 12/14, you can see that hydrant.
DeleteReminds me the new terminal in Thessaloniki, but looks beautiful well done to BEG!!
ReplyDeleteLooks just basic and very cheap, which was confirmed from people on airport. Like exit for garage on average shopping mall. Still can't believe some people are so excited about something that basic. Even Morava airport looks more modern than this.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you saw many airports (on the picture) since comments like this are absolutely nonsense. I flew from Madrid, Barcelona, Pisa (Lasta bus station looks better), Bruxelles, Charleroi, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, Girona, Malaga, Ljubljana, Eindhoven, Prague, Helsinki... And I haven't noticed any spectacle on neither arrivals nor departures of any of them. I don't understand what people expect from airport, to be shiny like casino or shopping mall or to be functional... Personally, I chose functional, but we are not all the same i guess.
DeleteIt gets the job done. The airport does not need to be glamorous, it needs to be functional. If it gets the job done and it’s cheap - more money for Vinci shareholders.
DeleteWhy some people have the problem with someone who doesn't like this design. It does the job, but looks realy cheap, specaly compare to most european airports. Even the one from first reply are far away with materials, it is just so obvious.
DeleteWhy would you have a problem with someone who likes it?
DeleteHaven't read comments in ex-yu for a while. What's happening, no realism allowed? Airport doesn't have to be fancy (although as public space it would ideally have some aesthetic value - like T1 on BEG), but it has to be solidly built and durable. Like a train station or bus station.. But, hey - enjoy the buckets of water on the floor when it rains.
DeleteIt is like becoming if you have seen one airport you have seen them all ,Nothing innovating
ReplyDeleteLook, all this is in vain if the politicians don't do decide to stop allowing taxi mafia to ruin impression of 90% of people arriving to BEG - hey 'taxi vouchers' in 21st century!?
ReplyDeleteLet me lay out my impression (not the first time) - and I myself am a Belgrader, not a visitor.
Came from BUH 2 weeks ago - took that voucher for Banovo Brdo - reads 2.200 rsd (~20eur) - OK - slightly more than 2.000 that I've paid in the opposite direction.
Than at arrivals corridor avoided 5-10 'gipsy cab' guys with their offers - allegedly they charge foreigners 50-70eur w/o any remorse.
Than arrived to the lot of 'legal' cabs - absolutely no one wanted to drive for 2.200 - and they all claimed 3.500 rsd as minimum fare (~30 eur) - in the end I agreed after 5 min discussion, as ultimately it's company's money and I was tired.
As comparison - in BUH arrivals - they have machines that issue you a ticket, once you select a cab company - it clearly tells you the fare per km - they arrive in 3-5 min - we picked not the cheapest one - in the end the total fare was 10 EUR - and it went a bit up - I was doing this a lot of times in BUH and never ever any of those cab drivers tried to rip me off - and yes - half of them actually are gypsies, but apparently operating in a far less criminalized country.
Just for the sake of fun - I did a km based proportion of a BUH and BEG cab rides - the BUH cab driver would have charged me 15 EUR in BEG ride from the airport, given the BEG kilometers and his fare - yes that one that here you actually pay 30 EUR, or 20 EUR if you take it towards the airport.
And then you talk to the cab drivers - they are full of stories about Vucic and the whole regime being criminals, Santa Clause conspiring against them etc - they actually cannot believe that they are the most expensive cab drivers in the world.
Such a shame for our city and the country they are - apparently the whole regime has some good interest in allowing them do what they've been doing for decades now.
https://www.exyuaviation.com/2022/12/belgrade-airport-to-combat-unlicensed.html
DeleteBut cmon - this announcement - it's atypical SNS stunt - they announce something to happen in very near future - they get positive PR - it very often doesn't materialize - very few people are aware of that fact etc. I mean why this needs to be announced for 6 months from now - like do it tomorrow - send the police out to deal with both the gypsy cab drivers + the 'regular' ones not willing to drive with the voucher. We do have a lot of police if I remember correctly...
DeleteNew roadway in front of the new terminal building once open can make it easier to manage taxi if there is a will.
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DeleteThe truth is that the problem of illegal taxis can be taken care of in very little time if there is will to do so. It has been done in so many other countries and Serbia is no different. The problem is that so many of the drivers are political allies or work for state security and that is what makes the problem intractable. No amount of vouchers, taxi stands, ramps, or whatever can solve this problem if the political desire to fix the problem is not there.
I can't believe people are complaining about taxi fares. Try finding a taxi from Kennedy Airport to anywhere and the fares start at $100. So 30 or 40 euros to downtown Beograd or Banovo Brdo is cheap.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is not the fares, the problem is whether you can enter a taxi and simply demand that the meter be turned on (or the officially sanctioned fare is honored). Surely at JFK you can enter a yellow cab and ask for the meter to be turned on to Manhattan. I know it because I’ve done it (well, at least in the opposite direction). Oh wait, there’s this other inconvenient point of comparison, which is that in the USA you can also legally whip open your phone and hail an Uber/Lyft and they will take you wherever you want at the prevailing market rate. That could be easily allowed in Serbia (and would be infinitely cheap given the unemployment figures) but is disallowed because of special interest lobbying
DeleteStill suggesting to simply try using the new BUD LCC terminal. Very minimalistic, yet with a quite modern and practical view with USB plots in many places. The only downside is the smaller area at the arrivals. Second biggest minus is the lack of rail which is in the nearby T1 that closed many years ago. But, the LCC terminal is really good. There is an amazing terrace with almost 360 views as well.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Croatia also has fixed its airports and are looking slick and modern especially Split.
I have no use for BUD LCC carriers. Why not just enjoy new BEG facilities?
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