Belgrade Airport's new operator VINCI plans to transform the airport within the first five years of its concession. According to Belgrade Airport's General Manager, Saša Vlaisavljević, who has been presented with VINCI's plans, the majority of the 732 million euros earmarked for investment will be disbursed by 2023. "Belgrade Airport, with the planned investments which will in large part be utilised during the first five years of the concession, will look nowhere near to what it does today. I am fascinated by what is planned but it is not my place to reveal this information. At this point, all I can say is that Belgrade Airport will look entirely different in five years time", Mr Vlaisavljević told the RTS public broadcaster. He added, "This year we estimate handling some 5.6 million passengers. The figure will rise to fifteen million in five years". For its part, VINCI has set a target for Belgrade to handle at least seven million passengers per year by 2024 and ten million by 2030.
Touching upon its future plans, VINCI Airports Chairman, Nicolas Notebaert, noted, "In the digital economy of today, we will bring many new things to Belgrade from the very beginning in terms of quality of service. We will also develop a very strong airline marketing development policy for the airport. We will work very hard with other airlines to create routes which develops connectivity for the country and the city and brings many new visitors. This is our motto. We believe in the project and we think that with our network and knowledge we can also try to bring the best airlines to open new routes and enable new connectivity". He added, "Within Nikola Tesla Airport, we will deploy our HR (human resources) policies, values and practices, social dialogue, health and safety at work, training - through our VINCI Airports Academy - management, innovation and very entrepreneurial culture because we are the first private airport operator in the world. We look forward to making Nikola Tesla Airport our herb in the Southeast Europe region".
VINCI has put an emphasis on developing long haul traffic from Belgrade in the future. Mr Vlaisavljević said, "I can't say that I would be surprised that within the next six to seven months Belgrade Airport starts establishing links with Portugal, Brazil, Chile and Japan. VINCI sees Belgrade Airport as a transfer hub in their future plans". On the other hand, Mr Notebaert said, "As a concessionaire we will try to improve airport operating conditions to enable Air Serbia to offer new long haul routes. For Belgrade, we have an ambitious and very dynamic investment plan from the very beginning in order to foster the existing growth in traffic. However, most of all, our main objective is customer-oriented. Therefore, we will do our best to make sure every visitor remembers the airport in the best possible way. We will do this through the development of an appropriate concept. Both global, digital but also with a sense of place which will be specific to Belgrade and Serbia".
After signing the concession agreement with the Serbian government last Thursday, a transitional six-month period has begun, during which VINCI Airports has to meet the conditions precedent detailed in the concession agreement, such as the signing and entry into force of the financing agreement. Once the condition precedent is met, the 25-year concession will officially begin. Mr Vlaisavljević noted that he expects VINCI to take over and put in place a new management team at the earliest in September, although the process could take until November to be finalised. VINCI Airports is one of the top five international players in the airport sector. It runs thirteen airports in France, ten in Portugal, six in the Dominican Republic, three in Cambodia, two in Japan and one in Chile.
The question is will they build a new terminal?
ReplyDeleteCurrent capacity is 7-8 million passengers. If they are thinking of handling 15 million they will have to build a new one.
DeleteNice. I think there are some exciting times ahead for BEG.
ReplyDeleteWhere can they build it?
DeleteI don't think they will build a new terminal, at least not straight away. What they will probably do is build the extension to T2 which has been planned.
DeleteHow much money is required for a new terminal, approximately?
DeleteZAG's new terminal cost EUR236 million.
DeleteAgree with 9.11. I think we will get this C concourse expansion.
Deletehttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0cTWfpOnuBE/Vctft_D8IEI/AAAAAAAAS4o/_-RKjbD8WRo/s1600/bgfuture.gif
We will see.
^Here is youtube link of that expansion
Deletehttps://youtu.be/j_gqh3Tl95o
It looks like a whole separate terminal but I like it. Could be a temporary fix before a new terminal is built.
DeleteThe number of terminals tells nothing about the airport capacity. SAW is a single-terminal with a single runway, and handles 30 million pax a year with it.
DeleteAMS is also a single terminal, it's all one big building.
DeleteWe need a proper new terminal building with separation of arriving and departing passengers. That one would allow for transfers to go through one separate security check and enter departure gates area. Current terminal(s) could be good for LCCs with some minor modifications (again separation of departure/arrival).
Delete15 million in 15 years? Shook!
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's realistic. It would mean they would have to add almost 10 million passengers in 5 years or 2 million each year which isn't possible really.
DeleteEven if it happens, I imagine Air Serbia would be blown away form BEG airport. I cant see them fueling this 10 million PAX increase in 5 years.
Deleteit says in 5 YEARS!!
DeleteJedini je Vlaisavljević tako razumeo, što nije ni čudo. Francuzi su obecali 15 milona do kraja koncesije.
DeleteActually this is what the French promised as mentioned in an article here few days ago.
Delete"VINCI has set a target for Belgrade to handle at least seven million passengers per year by 2024 and ten million by 2030."
Anon 9:39 is correct.
DeleteVlaisavljević was talking BS as usual.
.
Actually Vlaisavljevic was on RTS with another guy from the ministry of Finance. And when Vlaisavljevic said 15 million passengers within 5 years the guy from the ministry said that Vlaisavlejvic was being overly optimistic.
DeleteHe also said that their infrastructure expansion for BEG is similar to what his management had planned. Anyone know what that is?
DeleteYou have the terminal 2 expansion in the comments above.
DeletePlanned terminal 1 gate expansion is this
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vNt-_JnivbA/WLAL8kptflI/AAAAAAAAcTQ/yxUobMED-mchmgAfgGw315ZXlHhlkZ4AwCLcB/s1600/11.jpg
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xfhnBM_rins/WLAL8u2moGI/AAAAAAAAcTU/w_2p5sFS99gtEc5e4ajtGEElC3DgXAmJQCLcB/s1600/12.jpg
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xhvKfOCoSNQ/WLAL8shS9ZI/AAAAAAAAcTM/yc5fvGOG7eIYEAgZYD_djYyxMY6JFe2cgCLcB/s1600/13.jpg
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l8QXOikD0qI/WLAL881wgBI/AAAAAAAAcTY/78tZw8ubHtcj8M1x9Ff6oAKP_XW9a2RHgCLcB/s1600/14.jpg
7 mil by 2024 and 10 mil by 2030 is actually very conservative but good that Vinci sees opportunity to make money even with that traffic. However, with LCC expansion it should go much higher.
DeleteWhat is certain is that there will be that additional runway right next to the existing one. Vlaisavljevic let it slip.
ReplyDeleteAs they like to call it "inserted runway" :)
DeleteNice photo of the airport complex. There is a lot of potential for growth. Good luck Vinci.
ReplyDeleteConnecting the terminal directly with the aviation museum somehow would be a fantastic idea. This is such a rarity and the aviation museum in Belgrade is truly impressive. For transfer passengers it would be a major plus to have the opportunity to visit it.
DeleteIt would be so good! However, even today when it is a public company there is no sign or advertisement for the museum in the airport building. For the company running the airport, museum is not a plus as they want people to stay and spend during transfer hours. Maybe if they get to run a cafe/restaurant or a souvenir shop inside museum...but who knows maybe that was put in the concession contract already.
DeleteHahahahaha. 15 million in 5 years. Haha. Maybe by 2050, but definitely not in 5 years. My morning started good :)
ReplyDeleteWhat did you expect from Vlaisavljevic... Thankfully new management will come.
Deletenice so in 5 years 15 million pax :)
DeleteThis is enouraging
ReplyDelete"We will work very hard with other airlines to create routes which develops connectivity for the country and the city and brings many new visitors".
"We believe in the project and we think that with our network and knowledge we can also try to bring the best airlines to open new routes and enable new connectivity"
well what should he say? That they will not?
DeleteIts likely that TAP will come back. Any ideas which other airlines might start flights?
ReplyDeleteEmirates maybe?
DeleteAir France possibly.
DeleteBA.
DeleteClearly Air Tahiti Nui - as someone mentioned recently.
DeleteLAN Chile hopefully too.
DeleteYes because Santiago-Belgrade is a market of great potential!
DeleteGuadelupe too.
SMFH!
Can't wait for them to take over.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Professional management is needed ASAP as these local jokers have no idea how to run an airport.
DeleteEven with "local jokers" and huge subsidies to AS the airport was doing great!
DeleteLooking forward to hearing some concrete news about BEG expansion from Vinci soon.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to Nikola Tesla Airport. It is good to know that there will be a clear vision and better management.
ReplyDeleteBuilding a rail link to the city should be part of their plans.
ReplyDeleteAn airport concessionaire can't build a rail link to anywhere outside of the airport premises. They can lobby the government for it but they can't build it.
DeleteThis should be their top priority regarding P2P traffic development.
DeleteHopefully government was smart enough to ask them to pay for a rail link to the city but I doubt.
Deletelol Chile
ReplyDeleteBEG is surely high priority in their list. Vlaisavljeviću!
Out of the ones he listed I can only see Portugal flights starting and maybe Japan down the line.
DeleteOr Lyon
DeleteWhat about India, Morroco, Toronto, Chicago, Cairo, Shanghai?
DeleteAll you mentioned is possible in coming years, at least seasonally.
DeleteSo it's realistic that we will see the first effects of this concession in terms of traffic during next summer season.
ReplyDeleteZa rast do kraja 2024. godine na 15 miliona potrebno je da godišnji rast bude nešto malo manje od 16% što morate priznati nije neostvarivo.
ReplyDeleteGood news. Bringing in more airlines will increase competition and decrease ticket prices.
ReplyDeleteThe most useful benefit of this concession is that we wouldn't have to see and listen clowns in management like Vlaisavljević any longer. His contribution to stupidity is equal to his role in JAT airways' destruction.
ReplyDelete+100
Delete"VINCI sees Belgrade Airport as a transfer hub in their future plans"
ReplyDeleteI am really curious as to how they imagine to achieve this??
At least from SKP you can fly more or less to every village in Germany and Scandinavia and you have VIE,IST, ZRH, DOH and DXB as transfer hubs.
Other ex-yu airports also have very good connectivity.
Even if they introduce flights to Chile (!) they would really have to have at least very competitive prices or other perks to attract passengers to transfer to BEG.
Anyway, I wish BEG best of luck and I hope at least something out of this bad PR materializes.
Have you thought that the idea is not for it to become a transfer hub for passengers from ex-Yu? There are numerous other markets in the world.
Deletegood luck for that too!
DeleteThank you for your sincere well wishes.
Deletesure they were so successful in ex-yu now they want to expand o_0
DeleteOut of all the airports in ex-Yu I can guarantee you they have the most transfer passengers from ex-Yu. You only have to board the flight to New York to see where all the passengers are from. And unlike other ex-Yu countries, it has flights to all ex-Yu capitals. But there is no point in being rude and belittle others because of jealousy.
DeleteYour comparison does not make sense. From SKP you can fly to every village in Germany with Wizz Air, which does not sell code-share tickets. Therefore, this routes cannot be considered in any hub analysis. Even in a very laic way of commenting.
DeleteZamisli coveka koji zamislja da je Skoplje bitno za transferni aerodrom. Slicno i Pristina. Nije njima cilj exYu vec siri region. Ne ciljaju oni na AS.
Deleteimagine BEG-JFK without pax from TGD, TIV and SKP. just sayin ...
Delete"siri region" they were mega successful with VAR and IST and Krasnodar
DeleteThey never flew to Krasnodar. But I think your issue is with a particular country. Not so much the airline or airport.
Deleteex-yu is the core of their transfer pax. get over it.
DeleteVIE and IST are shaking in their boots now that BEG will become a major transfer hub!
DeleteAfter the "new wings of Europe" we will also have "the new hub of Europe"....
You are doing a terrible job at hiding your hate. If no one has anything to worry about, then I don't see the point of your comments. Grow up.
DeleteProsto veliki avio biznismeni ne shvataju da ima mesta i za VIE i IST i BEG i da nece vise sve zavisiti od AS. Dolazak Izija i jos jednog LCC ce podici saobracaj za barem jedan milion putnika godisnje u roku od dve godine.
Deletewhen you look at FRA or VIE they are only growing because of the new lcc carriers starting flights. I imagine something like this for BEG too. an easy jet base with two planes is more realistic then any Chile dreams
DeleteProsto ste takvi genijalni pogadjaci da pretpostavljam da sada Cile ima velike sanse da se desi. Nece biti NYC, nema nista od Pekinga i tako dalje.
DeleteBoth SKP and BEG have matured in so many ways. BEG is becoming a leading new long-haul runner. SKP is more focused on secondary or tertiary airports to secure its growth. What's the problem?
DeleteI think anon 10:19 was referring to the fact that every village in the Balkans will soon be connected to every village in Germany and beyond. And we are seeing this happening!
DeleteJU will probably shrink somewhat in coming years in terms of transfers as they are trying to cut costs and depend less on state aid. Maybe Ryan will offer transfers in Belgrade in near future :)
No, Ryan will go to ZAG first to take out OU routes to Germany.
DeletePhoto of Mahan Air’s inaugural BEG flight available at their instagram: @fly.mahanair.
ReplyDeleteSamo AS od BEG moze napraviti hub
ReplyDeleteAS je malena kompanija.
DeleteO cemu se onda sanjari?
DeleteNe shvataju savremeni avio prevoz. Nos im je zabijen u lokalno.
DeleteNe bas pametno
DeleteTesko. AS nema desetak dugolinijskih letova dnevno i 1000 biznis putnika da bi joj se isplatila transferna koncepcija.
DeleteBravo BEG. I'm happy to see that BEG will further invest in in its infrastructure. It is so exciting to see what this concession will bring.
ReplyDelete15 million in the next f i v e years?! BEG won't see 15 million even in 2030 unless Air Serbia puts its act together and starts expending. They should have a fleet of at least 40 aircraft by then if they plan on having a significant share in the number of BEG passengers,which is very unlikely to happen unless Serbia experiences some unexpected economical boom. Also, the way they de decided to build a second runway is abhorrent, it will look rather repulsive seeing two runways so close to each other. They would have at least moved it some 300 meters from the existing one so they could both be used at the same time...
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of the second runway being built this way either. How do they actually use it if it's so close?
DeleteBEG can have one runaway until surpass 20 million pax. Only problem is winter period when runaway must be cleaned of snow and with increase of traffic it will be impossible to handle such number of planes with single runaway. Second runaway even close one is important in that scenario. They won't be used at same time just as alternative if one can't be used.
DeleteOf course it will be much better if they build proper second runaway but problem is that one whole settlement is built to close and demolition of all those houses and legal issues can take a lot of time specially in Serbia. People from the settlement already had few protests and asked that plans for the airport be changed.
Treba pogledati gde su im pripojili zemljiste od toga zavisi gde prave novu pistu. Sve ostalo su prazne price.
DeleteHEL for example has 3 runways and it still doesn't need that much. I think BEG can do the same. Build not 1 but 2 extra runways. They may leave 1 runway only for long-haul and the 2 rest for short haul.
DeleteWhat is this obssession with BEG having two runways? Plenty of airports around who function perfectly normal with single runway and a lot more traffic than BEG (LGW, STN, SAW, ...) is even planning to have in 30 years. LGW has 45 mio pax/year (OK, they do have a backup runway, but they cannot use both at the same time), SAW over 30 and STN close to 25 mio pax/year. And you want BEG with 5.3 mio to start building the 2nd runway? Why?
DeleteAnd even if you build a 2nd runway, to be fully useful, it needs to be at least 700m away from the current one, as is the case with all the large airports, where they put the terminal between the runways (OTP, ATH, LHR, MUC, etc.)
Thank you for the explanation. And why not have another extra runway in emergency cases or one day if the traffic really grows? Just look how many new wide bodies are seen. The cargo is growing and the morning departures too. I don't see a reason why BEG shouldn't have at least 1 more runway.
DeleteFor backup purposes, it would probably be much cheaper to convert part of Batajnica to a civil airport as it is just around the corner and facilities (runways, apron) are already there.
DeleteAs for the widebodies, they actually reduce the need for more runway space. Let's say 30 aircraft can takeoff and land per hour on one runway. If these 30 aircraft are ATR72, your runway capacity is 30x70 = 2100 pax/hour. If these 30 aircraft are EK A380 it's 30x615 = 18450 pax/hour. That's why A380 is so popular for flights between large hubs.
2nd runway is required when 1st one is closed for FOD or snow removal, for equipment repairs or resurfacing, during emergency landings etc. Two runways make operations easier.
DeleteEasier, yes, but somebody needs to pay for this. Are passengers willing to pay a substantial premium not to have a bit of delay when it snows heavily or the runway is blocked because of emergency landing? I doubt it.
DeleteIt's kind of like having A330 fly BEG-ZAG just in case there is a more booked passengers than for ATR or A320. Sure, would be nice, but to be realistic...
Well if they decide to build a runway then at least 5 years will pass before it's complete. By that time BEG will handle over 10 million passengers.
DeleteAlso don't forget that cargo planes also use the runway and BEG has been growing quite a bit in this department.
This hundreds of millions that a new runway would coat should really be invested more smartly in a rail link and new terminal.
DeleteIf 15 million are reached maybe in realiaticslly 15 years they can think about building a new runwayso it ia there when needed in some 25 years from now. Till then money should be spent elsewhere!!
Agreed, money is better spent building a third runway.
DeleteVlaisavljevic made up his numbers....political cocroach from Bihac's meadows...
DeleteGood luck :)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately it seems government will not publish the concession agreement.
ReplyDeleteDid any other government in Portugal, Chile, Japan, France etc publish every single detail of the agreement?
DeleteI am not citizen/resident/tax payer of Portugal, Chile, Japan, France so I do not care whether they were published, but I care in case of Serbia. However, I fully support citizens/residents/tax payers of Portugal, Chile, Japan, France to have fully transparent governments and all agreements between authorities and businesses as I do in Serbia.
DeleteTouché
Delete@Anon 5:36
DeleteTranslation: you are saying that while every concession detail has not been published anywhere else, you still want to be a drama queen and reject reality.
My take: ignoring reality requires help.
@anon 9:50
DeleteBehave! :)
World can be a different place and governments can be transparent and accountable. Plus I am quite sure you did not take a commission for any part of this deal but will have to finance from your tax money if anything goes wrong.
Show us where Vinci published complete agreement and you might have a point; without it you are just a troll without any argument.
DeleteBehave no.2 :)
DeleteIt is not up to companies to publish contracts but governments. Better World is possible.
Then go fight for it around the world and come back when you succeed there. Your insane request is not backed by any other previous case. You p*** on democracies of France, Portual, Japan etc as if you invented democracy and thir citizens have no idea what transparency is. You reject reality and make wrong conclusions, as I don't pay taxes in Serbia. Grow up.
DeleteBehave no.3 :)
DeleteWith no evidence in favor of full transparency, we can now close the case.
DeleteGood boy :)
DeleteFirst they should definitely upgrade existing services, refurbish A7-A10, extend that area by adding an additional 3 gates, Extend C concourse by adding another 4 gates.
ReplyDeleteI think that is what they plan to do.
DeleteThat is not impressive at all. We are waiting for a new modern terminal.
DeleteŠta će nam novi terminal? Trenutni kapacitet je 8 miliona, kad se to dostigne-onda neka grade novo-ovo samo treba utegnuti.
DeleteBato, svrati do dolazne pasoske kontrole i preuzimanja prtljaga u letnjem spicu kada su svi avioni na svim mostovima da vidis kako je utegnuto i kakvi su redovi sa samo 5.5 miliona. Sadasnji kapacitet terminala realno nije ni 7 miliona, a to ce se dostici za manje od 2-3 godine. Sad je vreme da planiraju prosirenja terminala, to ne moze da se napravi preko noci. Vidi koliko se dugo gradio novi terminal kod vas u ZAG.
DeleteSo, it seems that flights to Guadeloupe, Réunion, SCL or GIG are closer to become reality...? Or you're going to make fun of it as usual? Typical Balkan way.
ReplyDeletepogotovo Guadalopa i Rejunion su sada verojatni 99%
DeleteOnce weekly charter flights BEG-PTP are realistic, this will allow Serbs to fly to newer destinations. It's not all about Egypt, Tunis or Greece! Serbians want something new.
Delete;)
Deletehttp://www.exyuaviation.com/p/serbia-and-dominican-republic-ink.html
med i mleko
DeleteLOL LOL LOL LMFAO x10
DeleteDid you ever think why even London or Amsterdam or Munich cannot sustain a flight to PTP but you really think BEG can? Oh my god. Oh my god. This is so hilarious
Hope the takeover happens in September so they can get to work as soon as possible and we can see the full plans.
ReplyDeleteSo according to Vlaisavljevic growth at BEG this year should be around 3-4%?
ReplyDeleteYes, 5.6 million would equal that percentage growth.
DeleteMarch numbers should be a good indicator of the overall growth this year.
DeleteWith JU cutting its flight schedule compared with last year the growth will come from foreign airlines increasing traffic.
DeleteWell this summer are are going to have an additional 5 weekly widebody flights compared to last year:
Delete2x Hainan
2x Mahan
1x JFK
Many airlines are adding passengers. Last Sunday I was flying to AMS with Transavia and it was packed - 189/189. We will probably see close to 6 mil this year.
DeletePlus let's not forget LO which is adding three more flights compared to last year and the smallest plane is E75.
DeleteI wouldn't be surprised to see the E95 most of the times.
If BEG can get between 5% and 10% in March it would be great.
Interestingly Vinci has already been involved in a few infrstructure projects in Serbia over the past 15 years.
ReplyDeleteDo you know which project?
ReplyDelete