TRIP REPORT: Air Serbia, Podgorica - Belgrade

TRIP REPORT

Route: Podgorica Airport – Nikola Tesla Airport
Trip taken: October 2018
Scheduled Time: 1 hour

Traveling from Podgorica to Belgrade should be one of the least adventurous trips in the region. A 45-minute long flight with an ATR72. Together with reasonable check-in and baggage collection time, the whole journey should not take more than three hours. However, this one took double the time needed to travel from the Montenegrin to Serbian capital.

Podgorica Airport was a good place to spend a rainy evening

Flight JU175 was scheduled to depart at 22:25 and the assigned gates were 3 and 4. Since Air Serbia does not have the online check-in option from Podgorica, my boarding pass was printed and everything seemed to be completely in order. The only thing that was missing was – the plane. Air Serbia’s JU174 was supposed to come from Belgrade and pick up passengers for the return flight.

When the time for gate opening came close, instead of the precise time, the boards showed – the time for new information. The info-desk provided just the basics – the flight from Belgrade is late “due to operational reasons” and that new information should follow. This was repeated for exactly an hour and a half, during which passengers were provided with no opportunities to get more details as the ground staff simply disappeared from their posts at the airport.

The two cafes and the Duty Free Shop at Podgorica Airport stayed open longer as passengers remained in the building.

The Business Lounge at Podgorica Airport was left open and unattended, a unique opportunity for everyone who wanted to try slightly more comfortable arm-chairs

The only way to get more information was thanks to friends browsing Belgrade Airport's website, as well as flight tracking websites. JU174 left Belgrade at 23.05 – almost 2,5 hours later than scheduled. A dozen minutes later, it was officially announced that the security check would start and the boarding procedure could finally commence for JU175.

The new time for JU175 – two hours late for a 45-minute flight

Ground staff at Podgorica Airport worked some extra hours

All passengers of the ATR were packed into one airport bus – it kept raining, so this slightly unusual procedure for Podgorica Airport, where walking on the apron is often a preferred method for boarding, was used.

One bus for a packed flight – definitely not enough space

A clever way to avoid the rain – opening just one door of the bus and keeping as many people on the bus until the crowd moves from the aisle

YU-ALN at Podgorica Airport

Still, that was not the end to our surprises. The aircraft was boarded from the back, and it meant a short walk for me, as I was assigned seat 18A. But the real surprise came when I saw that the last row was number 16. I immediately addressed the purser and he kindly informed me that this is the substitute aircraft, smaller than the original one – and told me to sit at the only empty seat in the last row, next to the aisle. He was very kind to take my hand luggage to the crew luggage compartment as all the overhead bins were full.

The ticket shows the seat number 18A – which does not exist on YU-ALN

Finally, at 00.50 – almost 2,5 hours later than scheduled, JU175 began the take-off procedure. Reaching cruising altitude was accompanied by mild to strong turbulence, especially above Podgorica - probably due to strong winds and rainy clouds. During the whole flight, the lights on board remained switched off and the seat-belt sign was on, even though the turbulence was becoming milder as we left the mountainous regions of Montenegro. There was no service or service announcements of any kind during the flight, as the crew remained fastened throughout the entire flight.

YU-ALN finally in Belgrade

After almost one hour of flying, touch down was quite smooth, especially having in mind the winds at Belgrade Airport. Upon arrival, the crew offered an apology for the delay, explaining that it was caused by problems with the original aircraft.

The notorious blue screens dominating the baggage hall at Nikola Tesla Airport

Afterwards, it took more than 30 minutes to deliver the bags at the empty Nikola Tesla Airport. Calling up a taxi that offers credit card payment options was another challenge. This all added up to a total of seven hours from door-to-door in Podgorica and Belgrade, almost the time it would take to travel by car. For a 45-minute flight, that's quite an effort.

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