Kraljevo Airport opening delayed


The opening of Kraljevo's Morava Airport planned for mid-2016, has been delayed once again. Located in central Serbia, the airport’s terminal building was completed in 2012 but has been closed ever since. Last week, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport donated 300.000 euros to it counterpart in Kraljevo in order for necessary work on the runway to be completed and for the airport to open for commercial traffic. "We have an airport that is completed. Over ten million euros have been invested in it and just a little more is necessary in order for it to become fully functional and accommodate all carriers", the acting General Manager of Belgrade Airport, Saša Vlaisavljević, said. The 300.000 euros will be invested in upgrading the existing runway. Some 100 people are expected to work at the airport.


The construction of Morava Airport's 22 million euro terminal was completed in 2012. Its 2.200 metre-long runway, which is thirty metres wide, can handle smaller turboprop aircraft. The Turkish government, which invested ten million euros into the project, was to donate a further ten million euros for the widening and lengthening of the runway, with all necessary donation documentation filed. However, in October 2013, as relations between Serbia and Turkey soured, the then Serbian Minister for Construction and Urbanism, Velimir Ilić, refused the donation, adding that the country would fund the completion of the airport project itself. However, no work has been undertaken since.


Construction of a new control tower and access roads at Morava Airport began in 2011 and was completed a year later. That same year, the first promotional flight was operated from Belgrade with Jat Airways’ ATR 72 aircraft. In 2012 a new passenger terminal was opened featuring a duty free shop, exchange office, commercial office space, a detention centre, clinic, car park and a cargo depot. Jat Airways soon after announced it would launch a two weekly service from Kraljevo to Istanbul, however, these never materialised. Since the airport lies between several industrial cities, the government is hopeful the likes of the Italian run Fiat-Zastava car manufacturer would make use of the airport and that further business and investment in the area would be stimulated. In addition, part of the Raška region has close historical ties with Turkey and a portion of the local population is expected to use the airport for future flights to Istanbul. The Serbian Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, said, "Serbia has an important central transit hub in Belgrade, which is now especially significant due to flights to the United States. However, we must have several smaller airports if we want to develop our tourism industry. It is much better to arrive at your destination by plane”. Last April, the Serbian government announced it was willing to enter into a public private partnership agreement with a German company which would operate services from Kraljevo to both Frankfurt and Istanbul. The name of the company was not specified.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Expected.

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  2. Anonymous09:02

    what a wasted money, bureaucracy, pay offs, cathedral in the desert....

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  3. Anonymous09:03

    It's interesting that they have up up signage at the airport for departures etc :D

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  4. Anonymous09:10

    The terminal looks great. Perfect for places like Nis, Ohrid, Osijek or Tuzla.

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  5. Anonymous09:23

    fantastican projekat, skoro ko trebinje international!

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:54

      Postoji jedna bitna razlika u odnosu na Trebinje a to je da je ovo 99% gotov aerodrom.

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    2. Anonymous11:50

      99%???? A što je teško tih 1% dovršiti, pa nikako i nikako. Tako lako završiti 99% i zapeti na tih minijaturnih i zanemarivih 1%.

      Majke mi na Balkanu 1% vrijedi ko u drugim državama 50%. Uvijek je problem u tih zadnjih i nedodirljivih 1%.

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    3. Anonymous12:33

      Hmm.. ajmo iz pocetka, ne moze se uporedjivati nesto sto ne postoji sa necim sto je skoro zavrsen aerodrom. A odgovor na to zasto jos ne radi je ovde mnogo puta dat.
      Mislim da kad bude kompletno zavrsen teži deo tek predstoji, pokrenuti ga sa mrtve tacke.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous18:32

      Pa ljudi božji netko je napravio aerodrom koji je potpuno nepotreban, na manje od 100 km od tada pustog aerodroma Niš. Umjesto da se investira tih 10-15 miliona EUR u Niški aerodrom, da se Morava poveza sa Niškim aerodrom boljom cestom i autobusnim linijama, pa da se poveča promet Niša, ovdje su dva aerodroma koja oba zajedno nemaju dovoljno potencijala prometa (uključujući i sve nove linije Wizza i Ryanaira) da bi bili profitabilni. I ona netko napravi još i treći na samo par kilometara dalje.

      To nije glupost nego kretenluk. Nemože svako selo imati aerodrom. Srbiji su dovoljna dva aedroma i par manjih sportsko-poslovnih aerodroma na koji osim sportskih aviona mogu slijetati manji poslovni avioni, poljoprivredna avijacija, te helikopteri za spašavanje i policija.

      I zato je to ista stvar kao i aerodrom Trebnje. Glupost i idotski potrošen novac poreznih obveznika.

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    5. Anonymous20:02

      Nije "napravljen novi aerodrom" nego je napravljen civilni terminal i ne moze se upotredjivati sa nečim što što ne postoji.
      Na 100km oko aerodroma zivi preko milion ljudi.
      Vi u komšiluku ste često potencirali priču kako se avio saobraćaj u Srbiji odvija sa jednog aerodroma i kako "Beograd ne razvija aerodrome u ostatku drzave", upravo to se sada desava. Ponavljam, nece biti lako ali od necega mora da se krene.

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    6. Anonymous23:51

      Ma gluposti. Da, Niš ima i te kakvog rezona i trebalo ga je razvijati. Možda bi čak i Ponikve imale nekog rezona jer su 250 km od Niša, a 170 od Beograda (navodno ne baš bajne ceste).

      Ali Morava je samo 130 km od Niša. Pa ni daleko bogatije zemlje ne razvijaju dva aerodroma na tako maloj udaljenosti. Čemu to? Posebno u kontekstu činjenice da Niš nije ni izbliza dovoljno razvijen, dakle treba koncentraciju dati na razvoj Niškog aerodroma.

      Konačno, kritika nije išla u smjeru razvijanja velikog broja minijaturnih aerodroma, nego u kontekstu da Air Serbija leti samo iz Beograda, a ne i iz Niša. A otvaranjem Morave Air Serbija nije počela letjeti ni za Niš, ni za Moravu. Dakle tvoj argument nema apsolutno nikakvog smisla.

      To što se radi sa Moravom je kao da netko inzistira da se Varaždinski aerodrom otvori za civilni promet (zato što ima pistu) iako je na 80 km od Zagreba, ili još gore da uz Osijek koji ima skroman promet netko napravi aerodrom u Našicama, Vukovaru ili Slavonskom Brodu.

      A to što postoji pista nije opravdanje da se potroši 22 miliona za terminal i još tko zna koliko za opremu. Ima i Udbina vojnu pistu, pa treba li ona napraviti terminal od 22 miliona EUR (na koji nitko neće letjeti) iako je Zadar tek na 88 km, Split na 195 i Zagreb na 185 km? Gluposti i to ogromne!

      Hajde da je to ponuđeno nekom investitoru ili koncesionaru, ali ovdje je potrošen državni novac. Koji se mogao utrošiti na Niški aerodrom ili bolje povezivanje sa Beogradskim.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous00:38

      Od pocetka skreces temu.. dakle usporedio si Virtualni Aerodrom Trebinje sa necima skoro gotovim. Da li bi ja ulagao u Ladjevac? Toliko para sigurno ne.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous01:23

      Ne ja govorim o činjenici da je netko potrošio 22 miliona za nešto na čemu se već 4 godine ne leti, a potrošit će još bar toliko da nabavi opremu, nepotrebno proširi pistu, te još bar dva miliona godišnje za radnike, režije i potrošni materijal a da na aerodromu neće imati više od 5 chartera godišnje. Dakle virtualni aerdrom Trebnje je glupost koja je koštala porezne obveznike 300.000 EUR za fantomske plaće, a ovo glupost je porezne obveznike već koštala 12 miliona i koštat će još bar 20. A i dalje se ne leti kao ni na Trebnje. Dakle potrošeno 40 puta više, a rezultat isti. Umjesto da se taj novac potrošio na Niš, pa bi to danas bio ozbiljan aerodrom.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:36

    Runway width wouldn't be a problem for Wizz Air, who fly to Memmingen, which is also 30m wide.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous14:07

      It requires special pilot training that no one is willing to invest in for Kraljevo.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous14:30

      Narrow runway training is valid for all narrow runways. So RYR/WZZ can start flying there tomorrow, runway-wise.

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    3. Anonymous14:37

      Wait, I thought the runway was actually sufficient for narrow-bodied jets ...

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    4. Anonymous14:55

      I think the issue with the runway is primarily lighting and instrumentation which is where these 300,000 will be spent.

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    5. Anonymous15:47

      This is one of most stupid lies that this runway can not support narrow-bodies. It can, it is more than OK, but it seems someone has to take some more money into pocket and that is why they print those stupid things.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous10:52

    what a shame! The airport actually looks nice.

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  8. Anonymous10:53

    Sad :( Hopefully they will finish it soon, that is really nice terminal and I am sure there is a huge potential for Morava

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  9. Anonymous10:53

    It's good that they will actually complete what is needed but with INI developing quickly, I think it is too late for KVO.

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    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:37

      I am trying so hard to understand what you wrote, but no way I can. Is it just me!?

      Delete
  10. Anonymous11:36

    Napraviti aerodrom po ceni od EUR22 milijona i onda ne imati ni jedan jedini let. Samo kod nas.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:50

      And in Spain!

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    2. Anonymous12:00

      In Spain? In meantime Castellion de la Plana airport open routes:

      Bristol (seasonal Ryanair)
      Bucharest (Blue Air)
      London Stansted (Ryanair)
      Sofia (Ryanair)

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    3. Anonymous12:01

      Yes and that happened more than 4 years after the airport was opened. And you are well aware of that.

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    4. Anonymous12:02

      At least in Spain's Ciudad Real airport they had a few flights operate when it opened.

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    5. Anonymous12:03

      Of course I am. Morava and Castllion open in same time. But they have passengers after 4 years, and what about Morava?

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    6. Anonymous12:05

      ^ Not true. Airport was opened in 2011 and there was no traffic until late September 2015.

      Morava is not opened as jets the size landing in Castellion can't land at Morava. Also you are comparing Serbia and Spain and you are comparing an airport on the coast visited by millions of people each year to an airport located in the middle of Serbia built partially through donations from a foreign government. Get real.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous12:07

      PS I'm not justifying this project. It was a waste of money built at the site of a military airport.

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    8. Anonymous12:37

      Apsolutni rekorder u ceni i pomeranju otvaranja je aerodrom u Berlinu.

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    9. Anonymous16:06

      It is not about comparation. Someone here mentioned that is also happened in Spain. Even if so, that is not excuse. But I just want to mention that at last Castellion was opened for public, Morava was not. In civilized world politician would resigned because of stupid decision to spend multi-million EUR for nothing. That was the point.

      And yes, Morava is coastal touristic destination. Serbia is not Spain. Totally agree. Even stronger reason that it was not logical to went to that investment. That is was more than stupid!!!

      And it is not true that A320/737 jet can not lend in Morava. They can, even today. That is one more lie in this stupid "project"!

      Delete
    10. Anonymous17:02

      The people and party and that initiated the construction of Morava Airport are now only in power in one municipality and that's in Belgrade and they won 6% of the vote at the last elections.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous11:37

    They need new runway at Kraljevo. There is enough free space for it.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:01

      Just another runway? Already spent 22 million, why not to spent another 100 million? Go for it, why not???? We have so much money that we can spent them on stupid project like Morava airport.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous12:15

    The terminal itself is pretty good, must say, the layout of interior is pretty good and it reminds me of SEN airport terminal inside (smaller obviously). This terminal, as people have already said, would be great for OSI, TZL, BNX (if they got rid of that corrupt management let airlines fly to/from there), INI, .....

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  13. Anonymous20:15

    Samo napred Kraljevo. Biće vam teško, ali na kraju se sve isplati. Evo kod nas čudo napraviše na aerodromu. Pozdrav iz Niša.

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  14. Anonymous20:43

    321k passengers Split Airport in June. 18% rise over last year. Massive

    http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/ovogodisnji-rekord--kroz-splitsku-zracnu-luku-u-prvom-srpanjskom-vikendu-proslo-40000-putnika/903926.aspx

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  15. Anonymous11:56

    Which airline will fly from Kraljevo and where? when?
    Any news?

    ReplyDelete

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