Belgrade among fastest growing in Europe

Belgrade Airport records second biggest growth rate among Europe's capitals

The European airport trade body, ACI Europe, has named Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport the continent’s second fastest growing main capital city airport in the first half of 2014. The report, compiled by ACI, is the only air transport report which includes the full range of civil aviation passenger flights: network, low cost, charter and others. According to the body, the Serbian airport recorded passenger growth of 32% during the first six months, behind only Moldova's Chisinau. Other European capitals following in its tracks were Athens and Skopje. Belgrade Airport’s former CEO, who was replaced last week, said in January that Belgrade would end 2014 as the fastest growing capital city airport in Europe.

ACI Europe reports that the peak of the summer season, which began in June, saw Belgrade Airport record the second highest growth rate among the capitals on the continent, again outperformed by Chisinau Airport, which saw its figures soar 33%. In addition, June 2014 was Belgrade’s busiest month on record. These numbers are to be eclipsed by July’s performance. With figures to be published shortly, Belgrade Airport is tipped to have handled over 500.000 passengers and recorded growth of over 20% last month. The results are primarily attributed to Air Serbia’s significant increase in operations and passenger numbers. On the other hand, the airport continues to grow despite a decrease in the number of flights operated by its second busiest airline, Wizz Air.

Last week, the airport’s Executive Board named former Jat Airways CEO Saša Vlaisavljević as its acting CEO, replacing Velimir Radosavljevič who has been charged for signing a, reportedly, damaging agreement with Wizz Air. This summer, the airport’s numbers have also been aided by the arrival of new airlines such as TAP Portugal, Vueling and Etihad Regional, as well as a significant number of charter flights and the launch of new routes by easyJet. Olivier Jankovec, ACI Europe Director General says, “Looking at the second half of 2014, there are significant uncertainties not just for the European economy but also at a global level. Geopolitical risks in Europe and nearby are probably at their highest in years. All this requires a great deal of caution, and keeping the same kind of traffic performance will definitely not be a given”. However, growth during the upcoming winter months in Belgrade will again be bolstered by Air Serbia, which will see a significant increase in frequencies across its network when compared to last winter season. On the other hand, the airport will also see Germanwings suspend its flights, while Turkish Airlines will reduce its operations to the Serbian capital in line with the bilateral air agreement signed between the two countries.

This morning, the airport’s new CEO, Mr. Valisavljević, said he will significantly cut costs and all investments will be directed towards improving airport infrastructure. “I will form my own team in the next week. I will terminate all tender procedures which are not related to airport traffic”, Mr. Vlaisavljević said. He added there would be significant managerial changes and emphasised the need to expand departure lounges and purchase equipment for winter season operations.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:06

    Congratulations Belgrade. Good results :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous09:13

    Will be interesting to see whather BEG can sustain this growth next year. It will depend a lot on JU but also its relationship with foriegn carriers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:19

    Has Belgrade ever handled more than 500,000 in a month before or will this be the first time???

    Whats going on in Moldova to explain the growth?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:21

      If the busiest month in history was June 2014 then 500,000 was never handled in a month.

      Also wondering what's going on in Moldova to explain the growth. Checking Wikipedia they have a very limited number of airlines flying there.

      Delete
  4. Petar09:23

    I'm very worried about the new CEO. He is an idiot which is why he was placed there. He is one of those poeple "everything and everyone before me was shit now I will change everything". I can't beleive that a person that ran JAT into the grown was given a second chance!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:38

      +1

      Delete
    2. Исто мислим.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:25

      +100

      Delete
    4. Shone20:11

      It was done so that idiotic decisions that surely will follow by this person will destroy airport and its autonomy and the results that was made in previous period so it can be given to the Arabs and presented as a great liability being taken care of.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous20:16

      I would Arabs enslave the airport than G17... as was the case all these years. ;)

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:37

    +1

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  6. Ex-yu, you have small typo.

    "Velimir Radosavljevič who has been charged for singing a, reportedly, damaging agreement with Wizz Air"

    Should be signing, not singing :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aerodrom Beograd tek ocekuje istinite i korenite promene
    u svome razvoju. Krucijalna luka Srbije od ove godine pocinje mnogo puta pominjan preporod. Investitor(I) ce promeniti ambijen i formirati pravi vazduhoplovni centar.
    Samo kojih 48 sati deli da sletim na tu vazdusnu luku. Pun nade u ostvarenje zeljenog nekoliko decenija, srdacan pozdrav iz predprolecnog Sydney-a.
    Rodney Marinkovic, AME

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous10:38

    Fact of the matter is the Beg is the fifth fastest growing airport in Europe.

    GROUP 4:
    Kiruna (+55.1%),
    Mykonos (+41.7%),
    Visby (+37.0%),
    Chisinau (+32.6%),
    Belgrade (+28.8%).

    Source: www.aci-europe.org

    A bit of research goes a long way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:45

      this article says for the first 6 months of 2014*. paying attention to what you're reading also goes a long way ;)

      Delete
    2. Please read the article more carefully. It is referring to CAPITAL CITY airports. Kiruna is not the capital of Finland and Mykonos is not the capital of Greece. And the results you have shown is June's performance.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous10:50

      "A bit of research goes a long way."

      I agree fully. But carefully reading what is written and not imagined is also important.... "second fastest growing main CAPITAL CITY airport"....

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:02

      But Mykonos is the parteeeey capital of Europeeee... just kidding.

      Great results.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous11:10

      The ACI doesn't rate airports by capital cites, you do.

      Beg is a Group 4 airport (>5 million passengers per year). The fact that you chose to selectively use data to create a false image is your problem, facts are facts.

      The truth is that OSI and TZL have far better growth than any of the airports on the above list.

      Not much research needed here. ;)

      Delete
    6. ACI provides results for the majority of airports in Europe. This article refers to capital city airports in Europe. Nobody is trying to present a false image when the truth of the matter is that Belgrade is the second highest growing capital city airport in Europe. Also, nobody is taking away the success achieved by Osijek or Tuzla, and their successes have been noted here in different articles. However, this article refers to capital cities. Not much research needed here :) If you have a problem that the result is the way it is then I will quote you and say "it is your problem”. Also, in your original comment, you took out June results mixed with non-capital city airports to present your argument in an article referring to half yearly results and capital city airports. The report which is issued to the media features 165 European airports in table form which you can go through.

      Delete
    7. Petar11:35

      head on - the problem is when any success is related to Belgrade, Air Serbia etc it's "false image" and "false information". I remember when Air Serbia published its quarter results someone said that they must be "false" and "made up". Some people will never grow up :))

      Delete
    8. Sada cu i ja ispasti "mrzitelj"13:04

      Ovo je tipićna rekacija bizantinskog tipa, na koju mogu samo reći gluposti.

      Uspjeh Beograda i Air Serbije je više nego fascinanctan. I to nitko ne dvoji! Nitko! Ali problem je što taj više nego fascinantan uspjeh:

      1. Vi još daleko više uzdižete konstantnim pretjerivanjem, omalovažavanjem drugačijih opservacija i iskustava (pa tako kritika na uslugu koja nije ni izblizu takva kakva se najavljivala postaje nacionalna izdaja, konstantna ozbiljna kašnjenja postaju "mržnja prema srpstvu", falsificiraju se podaci za LF, brišu točni podaci o skromnom LF, istiću se izdvojeni primjeri dobre popunjenosti aviona kao redovana pojava, a omalovažava se isticanje suprotnih primjera).

      2. Sve oko Air Serbije i Beograda je bajkovito pa se ne vidi niti enormna svota novaca koju će siromašni građani Srbije platiti (odakle?), te izuzetno dvojbeni i negativni dijelovi ugovora koji će vrlo vjerovatno naštetiti Srbiji. Tko god iznese činjenicu u tom smjeru postaje nacionalni neprijatelj. A vi ste zasljepljeni i opijeni "novim nacionalnim ponosom".

      Delete
    9. Anonymous13:51

      Vidi, lepo si se potrudio ali ti čitav koncept pada u vodu već u prvoj rečenici.

      Ne može o zaslepljenosti i opijenosti propovedati neko ko se služi "bizantinskim tipom" kao uvredljivom poštapalicom. Pogledaj prvo sebe i svoje predrasude, pa ih onda traži kod drugih.

      Delete
    10. Anonymous14:13

      Oprostite, "evropski" kritičaru, ali trebalo je da, pre nego što fašisodno kvalifikujete nečiji način razmišljanja (što, svakako, nije nimalo evropski), potkrepite svoje navode. Koji su Vaši TAČNI podaci o popunjenosti kabine u avionima Er Srbije? Molimo Vas za tačne podatke i izvor istih. Što se docnjenja aviona tiče, nju je priznao I direktor kompanije, dakle to je slabost koja teži da se ispravi. Ne znam zašto brinete kako će građani Srbije da plaćaju poslovanje svoje aviokompanije. Meni to zvuči kao zlobna napomena. Dakle, činjenica koju licemerno ne "dvojite" je da je Er Srbija ostvarila zadivljujuće rezultate, uprkos svim manjkavostima koje niko "ne dvoji". "Lep pozdrav" iz zemlje koja ima najjačeg avioprevoznika u regionu!

      Delete
    11. Anonymous15:04

      ExYu, Kiruna is in Sweden ;)

      Delete
    12. Anonymous15:06

      pozdrav je znaci iz Madjarske, oni imaju Wizzair, najaceg avioprevoznika u regionu. Pozdrav Madjarskoj!

      Delete
    13. Anonymous15:51

      Ah, zloba nema granica! Misli se na region bivše Jugoslavije. A, može: pozdrav iz Mađarske! Sreć/tni?

      Delete
    14. Anonymous16:03

      Čekaj, izvini. Ko to falsifikuje podatke o LF? Jedino ukoliko optužuješ admina za to? Možda ga je Aleksandar Vučić platio kako bi širio lažne dobre vesti o Er Srbiji, dobro znamo da je ovaj blog najposećeniji sajt u Srbiji, ovo mu može doneti podršku na sledećim izborima! :D

      Delete
    15. JATBEGMEL16:40

      @ Sada cu i ja ispasti "mrzitelj"

      Dok je Jat bio pod bankrotom, nikome nista, a sad kad se konacno oporavi onda je sve to cudno i sporno?

      Tacno da se mnogo sredstava ulozi u Jat-u, tj Er Srbija ali zbog cega? Od Jata je preostala 14 letelica za koju je jedva polavina bila u stanju za letenja, te gubitke koje su nastale od ko zna sta se sve desilo poslednjih godina, a da ne nabrajam i dalje. I MI smo sve to placali NASIM porezima tada, neka da placamo i sada ako ide na dobro koliko se do sada pokazalo. Lako je slomiti tanjir a tesko je posle sastaviti delove. Tako je sa Jatom. Puno se promenilo, puno se poboljsao, ali zatim ima jos da se radi.

      Takodje pricas da su greske nastale iskljucivo kod Er Srbije, sto opet nije tacno. Koliko se puta desilo sa Jatom da otkazaju let jer prosto nemaju dovoljno letelice da obavljaju red letenja koju su sami objavili. Te 'iznenadno' otkazivanje letova da bi avioni isli na servis. Zatim return to field situacije zbog neispravnih delova u avionu. Budemo realni, nije sve bajkovito u Er Srbiji, ali nije ni sve katastrofa i raspad sistema koliko se prica. Mani gluposti i sirenje mrznje i dezinformacije!

      Delete
    16. Anonymous17:50

      Opet o tome “koji ima veci” ili u ovom slucaju “najjaca aviokompanija u Ex-Yu”, pa jos bez zlobe???

      Liste se ne prave po tome koja je “strongest” ali obicno ima nekoliko kljucnih kriterijuma pa se po tome porede. Evo poredjenja bez nacionalnog navijanja, potpuno neutralno:

      Vrednost kompanije na otvorenom trzistu je jedan kriterijum, ali to realno nije moguce porediti za sve Ex-Yu kompanije u ovom trenutku. Kad bi sve bile izlistane na berzi u Londonu, lako bi videli koja je najvrednija. Ali nisu.

      Drugi faktori su prihod (revenue) i broj prevezenih putnika. Posto se oni najcesce objavljuju na godisnjom nivou a Air Serbia je pod tim imenom bila aktivna samo nekih 2 meseca u 2013, moramo se sluziti starim podacima po kojima je Croatia imala veci broj putnika, pod ogradom da bi za realno poredjenje trebalo sacekati rezultate sa kraja 2014.

      Drugi kriterijumi koji su vec sada poznati su broj aviona u floti i broj destinacija. Po trenutnim podacima, Air Serbia ima najvise i aviona i destinacija u Ex-Yu. RPK (RPM) opet nece biti poznat (bar) do kraja godine, ali se po ASK (ASM) Air Serbia trenutno nalazi na prvom mestu u Ex-Yu.

      Prognoze su uvek nezahvalne ali sudeci po planiranim/najavljenim povecanjem broja aviona i destinacija, po rastu popunjenosti kabine i najavljenim dugolinijskim letovima, samo je pitanje kada ce zvanicno Air Serbija prestici Croatiju po broju putnika. Prognoze za prihod (a tek profit!) nazalost nemaju u svim delovima Ex-Yu istu validnost kao ostali kriterijumi koje sam naveo.

      (kraj neutralnog poredjenja)

      Ako ovi kriterijumi nisu dovoljni, uvek se moze izabrati neki jedinstveni kriterijum po kome je neko drugi bolji. Recimo, neko moze reci da je B&H Airlines najjaci jer jedino oni u Ex-Yu drze aktuelni svetski rekord za najduzu liniju za tip aviona koji imaju (ATR 72-200)! Sad i Adria i Croatia i Montenegro i Air Serbia mogu da crknu od zlobe!

      Delete
  9. Anonymous11:05

    ExYU, Kiruna is in Sweden :) Btw, BEG will in 2014 likely handle twice as many passengers as Kiruna, Mykonos, Visby and Chisinau combined.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:01

      Chisinau would be a good Air Serbia destination.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous11:47

    @11:10 AM

    Percentages are not reliable indicators either. What really matter is absolute numbers where BEG will add >1M passengers this year. And when a Group 4 airport adds >1M passengers that is some serious success. Unless of course you are a poor unfortunate hater :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous12:02

    Where did you get the result of 500000 passengers. I'm checking the website and they didn't publish anything...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:06

      Do any of you read the news the guy writes. it says results will be published soon and its "tipped" over 500000

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:01

      Why do they take so long to publish the data this month...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:32

      they just got new management. I think those numbers have to be approved by them before publication.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous13:58

    Purger, why didn't you consider LJU-BEG-OTP the other day?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:51

      Don't feed the beast man...

      Delete
    2. Purger18:23

      If I drive to LJU, it is 30% of my trip to BEG or VIE.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous18:44

      Purger, any news about Kresimir Kucko's resignation? When is the privatization of Croatia Airlines continuing?

      Delete
  13. Anonymous17:35

    http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/croats-eye-using-serbia-to-skirt-russian-ban - I guess this might increase cargo figures at Air Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jedno glupavo pitanje, na cemu bazirate tezu " da narod u srbiji nema pare" pa eto ne moze da placa. Kad shvatis da neko daje pare da bi se platile svi prihodi i troskovi prosecnog direktora postavljenog od strane partije i bez konkursa i odobrenja akcionara. Taj narod ima pare i treba mu uzeti.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Vlada00:08

    We hope that AirSerbia will start paying taxes to the airport =))

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous02:02

    I was flying last Thursday from BEG to GVA. The flight was packed with 47 passengers of 50 seats in Saab 2000. I was surprised with very comfortable leather seats and quite good service.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous06:31

      Was the aircraft comfortable? I mean, it feels kind of small.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous23:00

      It was very comfortable. I'm not sure, but it looks like the seats are slightly bigger than usual. I was very satisfied.

      Delete
  17. Anonymous06:46

    Can someone please tell me if there are plans to make Sarajevo a 24 hour airport? Why do they close it?

    ReplyDelete

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