PHOTOS: Belgrade Airport nighttime race

NEWS FLASH

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport played host to its second annual night-time runway race early on Sunday morning, with 1.000 participants taking part. The BEGRunwayRun event began at 01.30 local time, following the departure of the last aircraft of the evening - an Aeroflot jet bound for Moscow. The race began near the de-icing platform at the airport, with participants then entering the runway. The track included three laps down part of the runway and the parallel taxiway. A Notice to Airmen was issued, indicating that the airport would be closed for some three hours overnight as the race and subsequent security checks took place. The first to cross the finish line was defending champion Nemanja Cerovac in seventeen minutes and 34 second, while the first female to pass the finishing mark was Teodora Simović. Belgrade Airport's General Manager, Nicolas Brousse, said, "Our team has worked tirelessly over the past few days, in cooperation with Belgrade Marathon. We started the race following the last departure and completed it just a few hours before the first arrival. I think this is a great event. Like we say at VINCI, this is an event which is popular across the entire community". The race was finished in time for the first departure of the day, an Aviolet-operated charter to Antalya, which took off at 04.00.