Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport saw its busiest year of all time in 2024 by handling 8.364.358 passengers. The figure represents an increase of 5.3% on the previous year or an additional 417.644 travellers. It also marked the first time the airport handled over eight million passengers in a single year. The number of commercial aircraft movements stood at 86.121, up 3.4%. The previous year saw the arrival of China Southern Airlines, Sky Express and Sun d’Or at Belgrade Airport, as well as the launch of two long-haul routes.
Despite Wizz Air continuing to maintain a reduced schedule out of the Serbian capital this year, Belgrade Airport is expected to see modest capacity growth over the coming summer, ranging from between three and six percent per month, based on existing flights filed. Following a dip in passenger numbers in November and December 2024, which is due to continue into January, the airport is expected to return to growth from February, based on existing capacity levels. The decline has been caused by Wizz Air, which, in the last quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, wiped out a combined total of 173.741 seats from the airport on the corresponding period in the previous year. The impact of the budget carrier's capacity decline and its reduction in flights is further exasperated by its generally high load factors on almost all routes.
Belgrade’s largest airlines by scheduled seat capacity, 2024
Belgrade Airport has said it plans to put focus on attracting more flights from markets in North Africa in the coming period, as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland. Speaking to public broadcaster “RTS” recently, Belgrade Airport’s CEO, Chivoine Rem, said, “Through our new incentive plan, we are reducing fees for airlines, which is aimed at developing traffic and growing our network. In particular, it targets destinations we believe are underserved. These are markets of special interest which are not fully covered, such as Ireland, the United Kingdom and North Africa”. So far, Air Serbia has launched one new route from Belgrade this year, to Shanghai, with Florence, Mykonos, Alghero and Ibiza to follow during the summer. Transavia France will commence a new service from Paris Orly to the Serbian capital, while Sky Express will launch regular seasonal charter operations from Rhodes.
Not bad. I was expecting around 8.2 million
ReplyDeleteYou expected Dec-24 to be 20% lower than Dec-23?
DeleteWhy would you expect that?
^ If you read comments here some people said the airport would not reach 2023 result.
DeleteDue to less capacity offered.
DeleteIt is because people focus on negative. If they actually read articles here carefully (and I notice from the comments many don't) it was always written the airport would reach a passenger record. And I'm very happy with the capacity levels that this site offers. We know exactly when passenger numbers will go down, we know exactly what is causing the decline. No need for guesses and conspiracies like some others often resort to.
DeletePeople are angry because Vinci failed to make the necessary arrangements to reduce the effects of W6 cuts. But hey, at least they increased their prices for everything.
DeleteW6 made huge cuts but BEG still has 5,3% growth.
DeleteW6 made huge cuts everywhere but PRG and BUD grew by 19% and 18%
DeleteWhy? Because they were not dependent just on W6.
Wizz was never strong in PRG because they are expensive.
DeleteBUD also covers a massive area. All of Hungary plus southern Slovakia.
Unlike BEG which covers only the area of Mala Mostanica. Cmon...
DeleteNo but it covers a much smaller area. To the south it already competes with INI and SOF while to the north everything from Vrbas is divided between the BUD and BEG.
DeleteSo the area is both less populated and poorer.
PRG apart from Wizz also has Ryanair, Easyjet, Eurowings, Smartwings and large seasonal operations by Jet2.
DeleteThat is why despite the collapse of CSA they had such massive frowth.
Smartwings bought out CSA back in 2018 so it was the same company. CSA barely had operations for years which is why their collapse wasn't felt.
DeleteTheir collapse wasn't felt because PRG did not put all of its eggs in one basket.
Delete^ No you are actually really wrong on this and I would suggest you actually do some research because you couldn't be more off. Their impact wasn't felt because CSA existed only on paper. The company was bought by Smartwings and it only had 1 plane operating under CSA colourscheme and 2 routes under Smartwings ownership. The only reason this arrangement existed was because the CSA brand is much loved in Czech Republic. Eventually, Smartwings retired the CSA brand and AOC and took over the 2 routes it operated. So CSA didn't "collapse" it barely existed. It would be like saying Aviolet, a former charter brand of Air Serbia " collapsed".
DeleteThe airport should focus on attracting other LCCs to fill the Wizz Air gap
ReplyDeleteCertain commenters do not consider LCCs as "real" airlines.
DeleteBelgrade has quite a lot of them: Wizz Air, easyJet, Norwegian, Pegasus, Eurowings.
DeleteWith the exception of W6 the rest have a token presence.
Delete@9.11 you can add Transavia to the list from April.
Delete@anon 09:14
DeleteEven W6 is unreliable lately. BEG should press them more to restore capacity like they did elsewhere.
Wizz Air's capacity is up 1% across its network in Q2. They have not restored capacity in most markets.
DeleteAcross its network in BEG or overall?
DeleteW6 last year carried 62 million pax, 11 million more than it did in 2023.
DeleteWhat is their outlook for 2025? Have they given any guidance?
Across its entire network, not just Belgrade. Wizz Air does have large scale growth on certain markets but it is concentrated on a select few, while the majority of other markets have a decline in capacity.
DeleteThese days they are announcing new routes so seems like the decided not to make BEG their priority.
DeleteI don't know what remains to be unclear after this sentence:
Delete"Wizz Air does have large scale growth on certain markets but it is concentrated on a select few, while the majority of other markets have a decline in capacity.".
It means that Wizz Air made their priorities and BEG wasn't one of them. It's very clear.
DeleteIt is unclear why BEG is not among select few and is Vinci looking for other partner who would prioritize Belgrade?
DeleteIt is very clear and has been clear all along. They don't have to compete with Rynair in BEG and don't have major LCC competition in BEG. That's why they can prioritize Belgrade in a year or two rather than now where they have markets where they are literally fighting for survival against Wizz, easyjet etc.
DeleteThat's why BEG should have been smart and should have given in to FR for a few routes no one wants. It would be a clear sign to JU and W6.
DeleteDo you realize JU is their biggest partner. That they cooperate together? Do you hear yourself?
DeleteBEG management is probably "encouraged" by the ministry not to increase LCC competition to JU.
DeleteBased on what? Based on the fact that Sky Express is growing in BEG and Transavia is launching flights? Both are LCCs that are competing with JU directly.
DeleteTransavia flies to Orly and Sky Express flies seasonally to HER!
DeleteTheir operation is tiny and they didn't need any incentives.
I'd fly 10x rather to ORY than to CDG...
DeleteAnd 10x rather to Orly or CDG than Beauvais
DeleteThe new focus on North Africa and the UK/Ireland is interesting. These are markets that definitely need better connectivity from Belgrade. Any idea which airlines might be interested?
ReplyDeleteRyanair.
Delete^ No, they have said they are not interested
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/01/ryanair-says-underdeveloped-belgrade.html
The UK visa issue needs to be resolved. I wish there was more info as to what steps need to be taken by the two governments to do away with visas.
DeleteI'm certain traffic would boom afterwards and not just to the greater London area.
@09:09
DeleteRyanair will very quickly change its mind if Belgrade gives better offer.
I doubt any of those markets will see flights. We are halfway through January and if anyone planned flights from April (summer 2025) flights would already be announced.
DeleteI can only see additional flights to maybe Egypt and Tunis.
I can actually see Egypt Air launching flights from Cairo with B737-800.
Delete@09:17.
DeleteExactelly. If you read carefully this statement Ryan basically said "Hey BEG, give us an offer we can not reject". It means put your underware down and here we are.
I think BEG is more of a A220 route than an B738.
DeleteThey should give FR what it wants as long as they launch flights no one else wants.
@09:36
DeleteIf you want to be sarcastic at least try to spell your word correctly.
It is "underwear".
Egyptair got rid of its A220s.
DeleteJU should launch CAI 3x week.
Vucko had announced its return last July.
People wanting Ryanair just so they could brag in the comments on this site that the airport has 30% growth. In 2023 your airport added something like 1 million extra passengers. There is just no pleasing people, most with goldfish memories.
DeletePeople want Ryanair because it makes flying more affordable. Are you actually against extra competition?
DeleteRyan said they will not fly to Belgrade. What else is there to talk about?
DeleteNo. Ryanair did not say they will not fly to BEG. Ryanair said they will not fly to BEG UNDER CURRENT CONDITIONS.
DeleteHuge, major difference.
@10:15
DeleteNo. Read between the lines. They said we will come if BEG lower prices to our standard.
In the link above it says Ryan will not fly to BEG in the future. Read between the lines all you want but this is the fact
DeleteThey said they will not fly as long as BEG is expensive.If BEG slashes its charges FR will fly from there tomorrow. So you are not understanding their statements.
DeleteRyanair just announced the cancellation of thousands of flights from Spain next summer and the closure of several Spanish bases because Spanish airport operator Aena did not cave into their blackmail.
DeleteWhich blackmail? Aena raised the taxes, not Ryan.
DeleteThat means that they will have capacity available for our region. It would be smart to attract them.
DeleteCongrats BEG
ReplyDeleteCongrats indeed!
DeleteAirport is too dependent on a few key players.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteTrue dat.
DeleteWhen you have relativly Strong national airline, there is no way around it
DeleteIt really isn't. You have 2 airlines based at the airport with decent numbers, which is pretty much the standard in Europe regardless of the size of the airport. There are of course exceptions ie ZRH where 1 carrier is dominant or FCO with 3 plus a couple airlines with some specialised markets.
DeleteOr you have Vienna where you also have three based carriers and because of that OS is constantly in the red.
Delete^ And they got LH to pay for these loses while VIE airport company (which is Austrian) makes millions.
DeleteAnd especially Vienna and Austria in general makes millions form all those travelers.
But you probably think that they are stupid and should have followed our example..
Vinci ought to do a better job at increasing traffic in BEG.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it's a management issue but in BUD which now is also a VINCI operated airport they managed to have annual traffic growth increase of 19% to 17.5 million!
For a company which operates so many airports all over the world that handled 318 million passengers last year I'm sure they can do much better.
Data: https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/01/16/3010996/0/en/VINCI-Airports-Traffic-as-of-December-31-2024.html
They plan to handle 15 million passengers at BEG by the end of the concession. So, these figures are in line with that. You also have to realize that there is a limit to BEG's demand. Further passenger growth can only be achieved through transfer traffic through Air Serbia.
DeleteOr with arrival of Ryanair together with much bigger easyJet presence.
Delete@Anon 09:08
DeleteBUD numbers did not come by handling transfer traffic but just O&D.
Ryanair, Smartwings and Wizz are battling it out and bringing in millions of pax.
Budapest is one of the most visited cities in Europe, while Hungarians have a disposable income and travel a lot and therefore have flights to all corners of Europe and North Africa. You are comparing two airports that can't be compared.
DeleteIt isn't just the LCC airlines in Budapest that contribute to these numbers, there are 45 airlines in total that fly there.
Delete@9.12
DeleteBudapest is visited by around 30 million tourists each year
@9.16 yes because the city is visited by tens of millions of tourists each year. That is why there are 45 airlines. Because there is demand for 45 airlines to fly there. Unfortunately, there is no demand for 45 airlines to fly to Belgrade. It is not a popular tourist destination and authorities do very little to promote it and make it a tourist destination, let alone introduce tourist friendly infrastructure.
Delete@09:16
Delete15-20 years ago they were visited by less than ten. But then they were focused on Malev instead of LCC.
Don’t say that tourism and LCC don’t play role in the development of airports, said some analitičar here to me when I explain correlation
Delete@9.18 No, please don't talk nonsense. Hungary from 20 years ago can't be compare with Hungary today. It has focused on developing its tourism industry. It has absolutely nothing to do with Malev being around or not. I suggest you visit Budapest and catch the bus to the city center. Compare the experience to catching the A1 bus with awful drivers in mini busses falling apart that accept only cash payments. Then you will realize why Budapest has 30 million visitors and Belgrade does not.
DeleteI agree. Unfortunately Belgrade's tourism offer has not evolved at all. People have become much less welcoming. I also used A1 bus. Driver was smoking wearing a torn shirt, yelling at people who don't understand Serbian that they need to have 400 RSD exactly because he has no change, The seat was broken. Taxi driver mafia at the airport too. And someone expects 45 airlines to fly to BEG.
DeleteAre you aware that Budapest started developing in 1989 while that is when Belgrade became the capital city of a country that went through war, international sanctions and then an illegal NATO bombing which devastated the country's infrastructure?
DeleteBelgrade only started to develop in early 2000s when Bogdanovic was the mayor. I remember one of the first big projects he had was to change the pipes in the whole city. In the following period many investments were made like the construction of two bridges (Pupin and Patrijarha Pavla), new trams were purchased, buses etc.
As for foreign arrivals. In the first 11 months of 2024, Serbia was visited by 2.200.601 foreign tourists which is an increase of 11.2%. So for the whole of 2024 the number should be close to 2.5 million. This is definitely not a bad number.
217.177 Turkey (+14.4%)
146.580 China (+72.6%)
123.886 Germany (+6%)
49.099 USA (7.8%)
28.876 Israel (+44.2%)
I also believe this is a Government issue much more than an airport management issue.
DeleteI strongly doubt Tirana or Bucharest are more attractive cities for tourists than Belgrade yet they get a lot more than us.
DeleteSomething needs to change.
@9.36 I do realize and I am not denying that at all. Unfortunately, I think Belgrade was much more tourist friendly, its people were much more friendly and open to tourists in 2000-2015 then they are now. I actually think the mindset of people has gone backwards. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that key people in tourism authority, cultural institutions are completely unqualified, most are uneducated and bought their diplomas and after several years of these people in top position it starts to show. As someone from Belgrade it really pains me to go through Knez Mihailova anymore which has turned into a vasar, footpath falling apart, graffiti everywhere, cables everywhere etc. Going back to the A1 bas. I remember it very well when it started at around 2004-2005. The drivers knew English, they wore uniforms, the minibusses were spotless. Now it is everything the opposite, and no one thinks its a problem. Now that's the main issue when I talk about mindset going backwards.
DeleteYet despite all that tourist arrivals are growing by double digit numbers. How do you explain that?
DeleteAlso, have you been to Hungary? They are extremely unfriendly in general.
@Anon 09:56
Delete+1000
09.47 That's exactly kind of mentality that brought us down. Why wouldn't Tirana and Bucharest be more attractive to tourists?
DeleteI am glad I'm not the only one realizing anymore how bad things have become. The main bottleneck to the development of the air traffic in BEG, of JU and of the Serbian economy as indirect result is the complete inaction of authorities at promoting the city abroad. And no, BUD is not a 10 times better city in order to have 10 times more tourists (let alone Serbia vs. Hungary). They are pretty much on the same level, all things considered, or one city may be considered a bit better to the other one for personal reasons.
DeleteI will quote myself from another forum:
"Причао сам са јако пуно туриста (i used to work in the industry). 90% им Будимпешта није ништа боља од Београда, већ ту негде, 65% више им се свиђа Београд. Већина сматра да је у Будимпештаи пар дана довољно, док би у Београду да остану недељу дана. Али 70% њих су дошли у Београд сасвим случајно, успут, што говори о одсуству било какве промоције и иницијативе српске власти. Ви сматрате да се Калемегдан не би требао уврстити у УНЕСКО? Тамо је иначе погинуо најважнији мађарски краљ, Хунјади. Али то је већ ствар владе и лобирања, рекламе, маркетинга, оно о чему говорим. 70% Будимпеште изгледа као село, мале кућице са два спрата. Београд изгледа далеко урбаније, има више небодера, мостова, већу “брзину” и ритам града. Њихове периферије су горе него у Београду. Клима одвратна. Имају леп/велик парламент и то је то. Шта још Будимпешта има што Београд нема? Немају улицу попут Кнез Михајлове, рецимо. Винча? Не говорим да је Београд бољи већ да су негде на разини по туристичком потенцијалу, али Београд нема рекламу ни лоби. У источној Европи је убедљиво најлепши град био Кијев (са мање туриста чак и од Београда или Софије), на другом месту вероватно Краков, ако изузмемо руске градове. Праг је ствар укуса, мрачан је и лично ми се не свиђа. Друго, карго нема везе са туристичким потенцијалом."
Hungary has invested MILLIONS at promoting themselves in all the biggest Asian markets, from Kazakhstan to China. Made films, commercials. That is despite a totally bland and flat landscape and not so welcoming people. They turned a rather average European city into a tourist gem. Good work, for what it is, but it's a total shame what Serbian authorities are (not) doing.
Because they are not, especially Tirana. Belgrade and its river is much more beautiful.
DeleteDidn't BUD lose those flights to Kazakhstan? I think that airline suspended flights.
Delete@QR921 +100
DeleteOmg Aerologic again in one of his fits. Budapest "average European city"...
Delete@10:04
DeleteI'm in Budapest every couple of months and in countryside also. Hungarians are not unfriendly at all. Yes, they are different than Serbs but not unfriendly.
@09:56
DeletePeople have no idea of bus A1 rudeness before coming to BEG. Besides, there are taxis, other buses and soon to be trains. Considering rudeness, try Turkey or Paris. It doesn't prevent them from being top tourist destinations. Hungarians are also rather rude as well.
This is not about how perfect or imperfect Belgrade is, but about a TOTAL lack of promotion abroad and long-term organized marketing strategy.
@09:36
Those numbers are ridiculous and pathetic compared to Budapest. Where was Tirana in 1991? Despite a lost decade, Belgrade had a good starting point in the early 90's and that should be evened out by now. Rather, knowing that, you should be working hard and do everything to flatten it, instead of doing NOTHING.
I'm sorry as someone from Belgrade what is there to do for a week in Belgrade? There are 3 major landmarks in the city. Other than choke to death in the pollution.
DeleteKalemegdan&rivers, St. Sava church, food and nightlife are more than enough ingredients for the successful tourism story of Belgrade. If only someone would know how to blend it and make it real. Don't think it's possible under current circumstances.
Delete@QR921
DeleteKao rođeni Beograđanin koji živi u njemu više od pola veka i koji je zapamtio mnogo bolje dane ovog grada, mogu slobodno da kažem daje Budimpešta za mene i kao turistu dosta interesantnija od Beograda. Ako niste čuli za Vacy ulicu onda ne mozete da je poredite sa Knezom. Da ne peičam koliko je saobraćaj uređen, plus metro i sve ostalo. Jedina stvar koja mi smeta u Budimpešti je što se non stop čuju sirene. Bukvalno svaka hitna pomoć, policija, komunalne službe, stalno voze pod sirenama.
@10:38
DeleteMost locals have a rather downside and condescending view of their own city everywhere i went, from Moscow to Hong Kong.
I am simply telling you what tourists were saying to me and why many choose to stay for a month or more.
But yeah, at taking pics of every major landmark 2-3 days is enough in almost every city.
@QR921
DeleteKao rođeni Beograđanin koji živi u njemu preko pola veka i video je mnogo bolje dane ovog grada mogu da potvrdim da je Budimpešta daleko ispred po svemu. Bolje uređen grad, čistiji, uređen saobraćaj plus metro, stare istorijske građevine itd. A ako niste čuli za Vacy ulicu onda naravno ne možete da je poredite sa Knezom. Jedino što mi smeta u Budimpešti je što se non stop čuju sirene od svih mogućih hitnih pomoći, policije pa i komunalnih službi. Inače cene u Budimpešti su nize ili u najgorem iste kao u Bogradu. Šta god hoćete, prodavnice, restorani, kafići.
@10:53
DeleteПоштовани, наравно да вам је Будимпешта боља. Па мени је и Тузла боља као туристи него Београд, јер у Београду ви сте локалац, са свим стресом, проблемима, лошим сећањима, личним искуством. Због тога и ја као београђанин 2/3 живота живим вани. Саобраћај у Београду је катастрофалан што је опет проблем власти. Нема једносмерних улица, мостова изнад улица, урбаних тунела и надвожњака, тунела за пешаке (на Славији хтели па укунули 🤦♀️). Но пре 10 година ни Истанбул није имао метро, па шта. То им није сметало да имају десетине милиона туриста. И чак да је боља (у тренутном стању) од Београда, Будимпешта НИЈЕ 10 пута боља да има 10 пута више туриста, а тек Тирана. Главно овде питање није колико је Будимпешта боља, већ колико се боља политика може спроводити по привлачењу иностраних туриста у Београду и њиховом утицају на развој привреде и авио промета. Ово све остало су промашаји власти.
Knez Mihailova is much nicer than Vacy str, but then again, Budapest is more attractive a city. Someone said "they started in 1989", well, no, they started way earlier, already had a much more modern airoport (Ferihegy 2) during communist times, and also good hotels (Hilton, for instance)... and a pool with artificial waves as early as in 1905. So it is the matter of tradition.
DeleteWell, finally we have a more sobering conversation about this issue. 5 years later, yeah, but people are starting to realize it.
DeleteAlso, what many people are forgetting, Belgrade is a much safer city than Budapest. In Budapest there are areas where you simply cannot go by night and that are full of violent groups.
DeleteIn Belgrade you can walk everywhere day and night.
@11:09
DeleteKnez Mihajlova was voted by National Geographic as the most beautiful street in Eastern Europe somewhere in the 2000's.
Next to it comes only the Moscow arbat.
Belgrade, unfortunately, is turning into a big polluted traffic jam on two beautiful rivers. If we're honest, we have to recognize that the wonders Belgrade has to offer are getting drowned under a sea of cars and pollution. And it's only getting worse.
DeletePollution is huge problem for entire Serbia and most pressing health issue, but I'm not sure it affects tourism that much. India is worse and they got some tourists.
DeleteAli ovo poredjenje Beograda i Budimpeste, vo imja oca. Budimpesta moze jedino sa Becom da se poredi, Beograd je druga liga skroz.
DeleteA tek kad bih vam rekao da nije bilo tako davno kad se Beograd poredio sa Bečom, a Budimpešta bila treća liga. Srećom, to je i dokaz da stvari mogu da se promene.
Delete+1
DeleteBEG had more pax than Vienna in late 80's and waaay more than BUD.
DeleteI was in Budapest last year, after many many years..I have to say it didn' change much to better since I had visited it for the first time 1986.. Streets are worn out, not clean at all, ypu can tell it was not much of investment in the city infrastructure and architecture in the last 15 years..Very very overrated city..Belgrade could've easily been compared to Budapest, just till recently..In the last 6-7 years my city looks like junk, you cannot even walk the trotoar ( sidewalks) because of craters and Colorado canyons in asphalt...Which tourist wants to see that?
DeleteWhile I agree with some points saying that the city hasn't changed in 15 years could not be further from the truth, let alone that it has not changed architecturally. Maybe in some outer suburbs but the city has a completely new skyline.
Delete@10:30
DeleteThey lost flights to Uzbekistan.
I think it is the most overrated city in the world.
Delete@Treshnja During my last trip to Budapest I realised why I like coming back there so much. It's liek travel back in time to 1986 when I visited the city for the first time. The center has not changed significantly.
DeleteThe entry road to the city - if you come by car - also remind me of the childhood. Wide, dirty with potholes and very random architeture around.
@14:40
DeleteWell, Budapest is nice, don't get me wrong, but nothing special..yet, there are many more overrated places on Earth , in my opinion..My top 1 is Dubai,...Also I could add Lima to that top list, Bogota as well ( although Bogota is not soo popular amongst tourists anyways hehe), Milan, Capetown and Melbourne..
@15:37 hahaha You're right, it reminds me to my childhood as well.. I remember it was ok, but not WOW, even though when you're kid every new place you go abroad looks like Wonderland...Few months after Budapest, I went to Rome with my parents, and then I said to myself- well, Budapest is definitelly nothing special hahaha
Delete1. liga: Beč, Budimpešta, Prag
Delete2. liga: Bukurešt
3. liga: Beograd
4. liga: Zagreb, Sofija
5. liga: Bratislava, Ljubljana
Eto, i to sam vam rešio.
I'll quote myself again:
Delete"Моја листа нај градова у источној Европи (са више од 300.000 становника):
1 – Кијев
2 – Ст. Петерсбург
3 – Краков/Москва
4 – Београд/Будимпешта/Тбилиси
5 – Варшава/Минск/Јереван
6 – Праг/Љвов/Сарајево
7 – Загреб/Братислава/Харков
8 – Софија/Букурешт/Тирана
9 – Љубљана/Катовице/Кошице"
Prague is very subjective, i know it's LOOOVED by most, but i personally hate it, just find it dark and depressive. There is some architecture of course, just not my cup of tea. On the orher cities i tried to be objective. My favourite city for life in Eastern Europe (after pre-war Kiev) is Warsaw. But from a tourist standpoint it's nothing special, especially regarding food and weather. Bucharest is a dump.
DeleteGood numbers. Well done Belgrade. I expect around 8.6 million passengers in 2025.
ReplyDeleteI expect 9 million.
Delete1st quarter traffic won't be good but after Easter I can see big increases. 8.6 I believe is doable even with W6 continuing to have engine issues.
DeleteIf you read the article 1st quarter traffic should be fine. Only January will be lower than last year.
Delete^^^
Delete2-3% growth is not fine when the rest of Europe grows at much higher percentages.
Let's actually see how much growth there will be in the rest of Europe. Lot's of cuts these days by airlines.
DeleteIn 2023 and 2022 BEG had growth much bigger than the rest of Europe.
DeleteIt must not be forgotten.
Thats correct. Compared to next busiest in the exyu, Belgrade had much larger growth the year before.
DeleteWhen last two years are taken into account, results paint a very different picture. 2023 and 2024 combined growth:
BEG: 2.753 million 49%
ZAG: 1.192 million 38%
Hopefully Air Serbia will look at Manchester given the demand and potential connections
ReplyDeleteSeems like Vinci did little to stimulate pre-summer offer from the airport. Nothing is announced for spring so let's hope there is more for the summer. Overall Vinci has disappointed many by ignoring cuts made by Wizz Air.
ReplyDeleteWizz Air is boosting other bases but ignoring BEG and Vinci seems to be ok with that.
How is nothing announced for spring? Transavia France launches flights.
DeleteOk, two weekly flights to a city that is already served by two airlines. So they rolled out an entire scheme just for that?
DeleteIt replaces AF.
DeleteIt actually doesn't replace AF because they fly from an airport with limited connections.
DeleteThis is basically the same as W6 to BVA.
For me Orly is more appreciated addition than, say, Manchester...
DeleteIf Vinci did a good job they would get us both: ORY and MAN.
DeleteThey will, eventually, it's not a zero-sum game. Just said that Orly is not "only".
DeleteYes and I agreed with you but I also added that celebrating a two weekly seasonal flight is not a good thing to do. Vinci needs to do more besides hike its fees.
DeleteAgree, it's not a thing for celebration but also not for a laugh. It's simply a good addition and news like that should be a regular thing at BEG.
DeleteIf Vinci did a better job exisiting airlines would be boosting flights to BEG in summer. Instead we got LH delaying their increases and KL reducing capacity.
Delete^ do you ever, for a second, stop to think that those decisions might have to do something with capacity issues or market dynamics. Do you think demand from Belgrade is endless?
DeleteThose airlines just like W6 when it comes to BEG they have "capacity issues".
DeleteOn other markets they seem to not have any.
You still can't get it through your head that Wizz Air's capacity issues are not just in Belgrade but network wide and is not a conspiracy. And as I said the market is limited in size. If an airline can't get enough passengers it is not going to add seats to please you.
DeleteI get it through without problems, you can't understand that BEG did next to nothing to make sure Wizz has growth. They didn't even try to make sure W6 has as many A321 as possible in BEG instead of A320s.
DeleteNo you are still completely delusional how an airline the size of Wizz Air works.
Delete@11:55
DeleteW6 last year network wide grew by over 18%
It just chose to grow elsewhere and make cuts in BEG.
The airport could have done a lot more to convince them to grow.
Last year, Wizz Air' network wide capacity growth was 2.6%
DeleteClearly I am referring to number of passengers carried.
Delete18% passenger growth against minimal capacity growth means they had a better load factor. Nothing else. So your comment in relation to BEG makes no sense.
DeleteIt makes perfect sense. W6 chose to redirect its capacity on other airports. And also not to have A321 neo that hold 239 seats here exclusively so as to reduce the capacity decrease.
DeleteDo you realize they didn't grow their capacity?
DeleteDo you understand what growing the passenger numbers by 11 million means?
DeleteHow much growth in capacity is there for February? Who is leading this growth?
ReplyDeleteJU suspending Sochi and Kazan won't help for sure.
DeleteJU had a higher % growth than BEG.
ReplyDeleteImpressive result by Lufthansa. With more flights in 2025 we might see them reach half a million seats.
ReplyDeleteShame KL decided against sending the B73W to BEG which was planned from January and then the whole summer season. It's no longer in the system. Funny they cut capacity after Vinci announced their subsidy scheme. lol
Our region loves Lufti!
DeleteThey offer good connections, they are very practical.
DeleteCongrats on best result ever, however it was overshadowed by Wizz and JU‘s chaotic planning and execution.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it‘s really time for FR to come and shake the whole market a bit.
+1
DeleteI would prefer to see Easyjet over Ryanair
DeleteIt's rarely mentioned, and it's visible from the table, that growth slowed down after JU/Marathon incident, and growth stopped after Wizz cuts. The growth rate in 2024 is just fine, not many businesses have +5-6% compared to 2023. I wonder what's next for BEG.
ReplyDeleteThe growth in PASSENGER TRAFFIC is not fine. Look at the growth for the majority of airports in Europe.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_busiest_airports_in_Europe
Wizz Air cuts were in effect from April.
DeleteAnonymous09:56
DeleteIt is fine because BEG is 46% above 2019 levels while many in Europe have not even reached that level.
The growth rate is in line with those of LHR, IST, CDG, FRA, LIS... How's that not fine?
Delete2024 was a great year for aviation in Europe, Despite the supply side issues at Boeing and Airbus. Lets hope 2025 is just as good.
Delete@Anonymous10:01 these are fully mature markets. You are comparing apples and oranges.
DeleteBelgrade combined growth for 2023 and 2024 is ahead of most airports.
DeleteTrue dat.
DeletePored postepenog uspeha po broju putnika, samom cinjenicom da Aerodrom Tirana je prevazisla Beogradski Aerodrom za oko Dva milijona putnika. Ostaje utisak da VINCI menadzment ce poboljsati i povecati saobracaj u ovoj i iducoj godini. Pogotovo u 2027 godini i buducnosti. EXPO Izlozba ce biti prelomna tacka za stvarno uvecanje avio saobracaja sa Nikole Tesle. Od tada Tirana nece vise dominirati. Mada turizam i investicije ce biti realna snaga razvoja avio saobracaja u Tirani i jos par budcih njihovih aerodroma.
ReplyDeleteIpak buduci razvoj Srbije i poboljsanja u privlacenju novih linija i frekvenci, donece Srbiji i Beogradu mesto vodeceg u avio saobracaju. Bar sto se tice Jugo Istoka Evrope.
Podrska nece izostati... 🇷🇸✈🌐🛫
Teško, pored mediteranskih destinacija kao što su Hrvatska, Albanija a tek Grčka. Potreban nam je jedan reality check.
DeleteКога брига за медитеранске дестинације? Ми се ни не поредимо са њима. Имаћемо 2.5 милиона туриста ове године што је сасвим ок вредност, можда је вама потребан reality check?
DeleteKoji vi? Gdin Rodney Marinković je uporedio sa Jugo Istokom Evrope i komentar se odnosi na to, ukoliko vam je poznato gde se nalazi jugoistok Evrope. I malo manje agresije u komentaru ne bi bilo loše...
DeleteНаписали сте да нам је потребан reality check, дакле коментар се није односио само на Роднија већ на српско друштво. Генерализовали сте.
DeleteMa kakvo srpsko društvo, srpsko društvo se ni ne bavi upoređivanjem aerodroma i broja avio putnika. Definitivno nisam mislio na srpsko društvo nego na nas koji komentarišemo na ovom forumu - na Rodneya, vas i sebe.
Delete@11:15 where this figure of 2,5M tourists was published? And under which criteria was counted?
DeleteMajority of those " tourists" are visits from Bosnia, which are not real tourists ( most of them), they are visiting their families..Also Russians that are living in Balgrade and rest of Serbia for almost 3 years are not tourists as well, although many of them are here under tourism/ leisure activities regime of visa free entry
That was with the expansion of BEG.
ReplyDeleteWithout JU fleet expansion and/or more LCC flying I'm afraid BEG will have small growth in the future.
DeleteJU are on the limits. Now only FR can.
DeleteAir Serbia talked about double-digit Embraer fleet, need for more A320s and widebody fleet of 7-8 with expansion to 100+ destinations by 100th anniversary. Wizz is nowhere near the limits of market demand, they will easiliy fill BEG base of five A321s if they had them available right now.
DeleteAnd if Ryan was serious about immediate arrival to BEG, Wizz would already increase BEG presence as a preemptive move.
Marek talked but talk is cheap.
Delete@15:53
Delete+1
Nothing cheap in records, from quadrupling number of long-haul destinations to record 4.44 million passengers.
DeleteI am a native of Belgrade and I probably love this city more than 99% of itsresidents. Nevertheless, we have to be realistic Belgrade will never have to offer as much as Budapest in terms of tourist attractions. Budapest was the second capital of an empire, meanwhile Belgrade was fighting for bare survival. That being said, I think we should always compare the city and airport to BUD and try to be more like them. We cant just bask in the fact that BEG is better than some small balkan airports. The railway being built to conncect the airport to the city is a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteWell said. It always annoys me when people compare BEG only to ZAG or TIA. Then BEG looks great. But the truth is that there is still a lot to be done. BEG has less pax than secondary airports in Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal and even Poland (less than Krakow). And I know very well the arguments, but BEG should aim for the stars and not compare itself with smaller airports with weak or non-existant national airline. It is well placed to be a major hub. Strategy, consistency, disciplie, hard work and a bit of luck (as it is now with niche flights to Russia)...
Delete