PHOTOS: Belgrade Airport’s control tower takes shape

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

Italy to sell ITA in June

Italy's government aims to sell state-owned ITA Airways, the successor to Alitalia, by the end of June after setting a deadline for binding offers of May 23, Economy Minister Daniele Franco said. Three prospective bidders for ITA Airways have had access to its finance data room, Franco said addressing parliament over the issue. They are shipping group MSC alongside Germany's Lufthansa, the U.S. Certares fund in cooperation with Delta and Air France, and investor Indigo Partners, Franco added. Under a government decree, Rome plans to privatise ITA through a direct sale while retaining a minority, non-controlling stake in a first stage. MSC in January requested an exclusivity period of 90 days to iron out details of an acquisition, but Rome opted for a market-based procedure aimed at keeping the door open to other potential suitors. "The outcome of the negotiations is not a foregone conclusion. We will examine the three offers in a transparent way, there is no decision on our part at present", Franco said adding a key factor is that the buyer is at least 51% owned by a European player. Lufthansa is interested in taking a minority stake in ITA, leaving the majority to MSC, the airline said in remarks during its shareholders meeting. It added, however, that the review of ITA's financial data would be important to confirm this preliminary intention. If the deal does go through, Lufthansa aims to build a close commercial cooperation with ITA and expects synergies to make the investment profitable in the long term, the carrier said. Under an agreement with the European Union, Rome can inject up to 1.35 billion euros into the ITA by 2023. A privatisation deal would potentially reduce the financial support granted by the state, limiting the costs for Italian taxpayers.

PHOTOS: Belgrade Airport’s control tower takes shape

NEWS FLASH

The construction of the new 75-metre control tower at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is progressing on schedule with work set to be completed this September. The new facility, which also includes a two-level flight control centre at its base, will become operational from February 2022, once all of the latest equipment is fitted and tested. The five-month period will also allow for training and familiarisation programs to enable the safe transition from the existing facilities to the new control tower operation. “This is the biggest and most important project in the modernisation of Serbia’s air traffic control. We are building a 75-metre tall control tower with a 100 square metre control tower cab featuring the most advanced software and technology. Construction began in February 2020 and the tower will be put into use in February 2022, exactly sixty years since the opening of the existing air traffic control tower at Belgrade Airport”, the head of the Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services Agency, Predrag Jovanović, said.

Photos compliments of Delta India Delta / ID Supreme Art

Comments

Anonymous16:52
Keep up the good work
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Anonymous04:02
BEG a go go!
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Anonymous10:41
A rail terminal and you have yourselves a modern European airport.
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Anonymous12:53
An extension from Zemun train station to BEG airport is planned as part of the Beovoz suburban railway line Surčin- Novi Beograd.
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Uros15:48
I think extension of the metro system is planned to the airport. Better than rail, I think
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