Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport handled some 400.400 passengers in September, representing a decrease of 38.1% on the same month in the pre-pandemic 2019. The rate of recovery slowed due to the reintroduction travel bans for Serbian citizens and residents from a number of key European markets. During the first three quarters, Belgrade Airport welcomed 2.436.000 travellers through its doors, down 48.7% on 2019. In a statement, airport operator VINCI said, “In Serbia, passenger numbers tripled compared to summer 2020. In July and August, demand for flights was boosted by tourist destinations in Turkey (Antalya up 13%) and Egypt (Hurghada up 30%). Traffic shrank towards the end of the quarter due to a resurgence in the pandemic, but airlines’ flight schedules for the coming months still look encouraging”.
During the first three quarters Belgrade Airport maintained its position among the top sixty busiest airports in Europe, ranking at number 57 according to Airports Council International (ACI), ahead of the likes of the traditionally busier Manchester, Sofia, Budapest, Thessaloniki, Stuttgart, Helsinki and Venice. During the first nine months of the year, Air Serbia was the airport’s biggest carrier, accounting for 55% of all flights, followed by Wizz Air, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines. In terms of available seats, Air Serbia held a share of 47%, followed by Wizz Air, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. The most capacity was offered to Tivat, followed by Zurich, Istanbul, Podgorica, Moscow, Frankfurt and Paris.
Meanwhile, the expansion of Belgrade Airport is continuing to advance. Currently, the focus is being put on connecting the expanded part of the terminal building with the existing facility. This is because the expanded Pier C complex is not completely aligned with the existing C gates, and while it will be unnoticeable to passengers walking the airport’s corridors, the positioning of the new building allows for greater apron space, and in turn, will enable the new gates to handle wide-body aircraft Furthermore, work is being carried out on the complete reconstruction of the interior at the arrivals level and first floor to allow for additional check-in desks and more than 1.200 square metres of space for new restaurants, bars and shops. In addition a new centralised security control zone is being created on the first floor to increase the efficiency of security operations and ensure faster passenger flows. The airport previously said it would use centralised security with Pier C only and Pier A some six months afterwards. Works on the refurbishment of the A and C side gates are currently ongoing. In addition, preparatory work is underway on projects to modernise access roads, construct new parking lots, and upgrade and reconfigure traffic lanes in front of the passenger terminal.
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| Construction on linking new Pier C expansion with rest of the terminal |
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| New Pier C gates |
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| Overhaul of check-in area and new centralised security |
That's a pretty good result all things considered.
ReplyDeleteSeems realistic that numbers will be back at pre-Covid levels in 2023.
ReplyDeleteNext year should be better but I think we will still be very much influenced by the pandemic. 2023 should finally be a clean slate I believe.
DeleteGood result and there is still the Wizz Air expansion coming in December.
ReplyDeleteLet's just hope they stick to it, knowing Wizz...
DeleteThe fact they upgraded their base to A321 shows they have BEG as part of their future expansion plans.
DeleteWizz is not only introducing new destinations but is considerably boosting many existing ones around New Year.
DeleteAnd let's not forget the extra capacity now that A321s are operating instead of A320.
DeleteAre there any new routes planned for next year?
ReplyDeleteI believe there will be some exciting times ahead for BEG next year. They will open the new expanded part of the terminal, I believe Air Serbia will get second A330 and we will have Wizz's third plane.
DeleteITA will be launching Rome next August.
DeleteHope they start ticket sales soon.
DeleteI really hope some airline will launch BEG-LIS.
DeleteJU did well in September. Over 193,000 passengers.
ReplyDeleteFantastic. To put into context, that's more than Zagreb Airport handled for the whole of last month.
DeleteCan you give me the context again?
DeleteThis is a great result taking into account that Serbian citizens can't enter Sweden, Bulgaria and Romania regardless of vaccination status.
ReplyDeleteAnd entry into many other countries has been made much more difficult.
DeleteGood thing is that you can travel to Italy now, that's a huge market right there.
DeleteWell actually entry into Italy is still relatively restricted and involves several days of quarantine upon arrival. I believe this also applies for Italian citizens returning from Serbia.
DeleteI just returned from Rome, I needed the form filled out and an antigen test. I did not need to go into quarantine once I got there.
DeleteFor those interested our FCO-BEG had around 80 passengers which isn't that bad.
DeleteIt isn't bad considering the situation. What was the passenger structure if you notices? I assume mostly gastos?
Delete50%+ pre Covid traffic at this point is above the European average. Good work.
ReplyDeleteFinally centralized security!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for them to finish the expansion
DeleteBelgrade's time is only coming now.
DeleteHad the directorate not blocked them, we would have had scheduled flights to Ankara and Bodrum this summer, as well S7 Airlines and Ural flying from Moscow. Would have helped numbers improve even more.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteNice to see the airport returning to life.
ReplyDeleteGoes to show the importance of having a strong national airline.
ReplyDelete+100
Deleteabsolutely
DeleteA lot of things benefited BEG this summer. The influx of Indian travellers, travel bans being removed for most of the summer and huge charter traffic
ReplyDeleteThere were also new/returning legacy airlines like KLM and Luxair.
DeleteAnd also lot of demand for Middle East with Flydubai introducing second daily flight at the end of the month and Wizz Air having the same capacity to Abu Dhabi as Etihad before the pandemic.
DeleteQR also operating pre-pandemic frequencies.
Delete@9.23 KLM is the real winner. They started flying in May and in 2 weeks time they will already have 14 weekly flights.
DeleteWhat the crisis can show is which destinations are more resilient in terms of travel demand and airlines have acted accordingly.
DeleteIt also helps that there have not been any draconian entry requirements into Serbia. And also considering that cases rise and fall in waves across the world, it shows that entry requirements for foreigners have little impact.
DeleteIt goes to show there is a lot of organic local demand which is always good.
DeleteYes, Serbs generally have a tradition of travelling on holiday in summer. Many didn't go anywhere last year so they used the opportunity this summer.
DeleteAgree with @anon 9.30. KLM is also constantly increasing capacity on BEG route.
DeleteThey are using B737 as their equipment now. They sent the E190 twice since the middle of August.
DeleteNice. Really glad the route is going well for them.
DeleteI wonder how this is affecting Air Serbia's performance on the Amsterdam route.
DeletePersonally I think KL affected LH more than it did JU.
DeleteKL is killing it with American transfers apparently.
DeleteKeep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteNice to see
ReplyDeleteWhich foreign airline are now operating the same number of flights as before the pandemic at BEG?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I'm aware: Air Cairo, Flydubai, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Pegasus Airlines.
DeleteIsn't Swiss also back with the same frequencies?
DeleteI have to admit I didn't expect such a strong summer.
ReplyDeleteIs it just me or has Arkia resumed flights to BEG. I see they have an arrival today.
ReplyDeleteYes they restarted flights last month.
DeleteThe number of charters this year has been crazy and they are still running!
ReplyDeleteHurghada still going strong :D
DeleteAnyone know how many passengers we can expect this year at BEG?
ReplyDeleteMy guess is 3 million.
DeleteGreat to see Wizz Air AUH doing well with A321 and adding fourth flight.
ReplyDeleteAny word if Etihad will come back?
DeleteWhat would be the point. Wizz Air has taken over.
DeleteGood recovery but unfortunately winter will be tough..
ReplyDeleteI don't think it will be. In fact since Serbia's newest wave has peaked already, it will likely be over by the end of the month. So November, December and January should see relative calm and restrictions by other countries will be eased accordingly.
DeleteIt's very hard to predict how things will pan out in this sort of environment.
Deleteencouraging trends.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the photos
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good result.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what the new capacity will be with the C expansion and the new bus gates?
ReplyDeleteOfficial numbers have not been released as far as I know.
DeleteThe entire project should double capacity.
DeleteThat is to 14 million per year
DeleteAny chance Mahan Air will come back? Iran has started issuing tourist visas again.
ReplyDeleteMahan will the earliest return next year but it depends on the epidemical situation.
DeleteIf anything we still get Conviasa on its way back from IKA :D
DeleteI would say this is a very good result and quite unexpected.
ReplyDeleteAny possibility of a second low cost company making BEG its new base?
ReplyDeleteEasyjet would be wonderful
DeleteDon't think so especially now that Wizz has three A321s.
DeleteWell, Ryanair loves competition, wouldn't be surprised at all if it comes to fight directly against both Wizz and JU. At the end of the day Passengers would benefit if that happens.
DeleteRyanair said the other day they have so many planes coming that they are looking for a lot of new bases in Europe. Maybe they do eventually come to BEG.
DeleteEasyjet could serve Belgrade from its other bases.
DeleteAll of them have demand from Serbia.
Good examples are Malaga, Manchester, Catania.
Question about Belgrade getting third LCC or having second LCC base an aircraft repeats every single time BEG airport is a news topic. Didn't you get your answer already? Chances of that happening are lower than say ZAG getting Wizz and Easy to base aircraft there.
DeleteGood work
ReplyDeleteThis is more than I expected. I was guessing around 2 million could be achieved this year
ReplyDeleteThat would have been just a fraction above last year when there was no flights for 2 months.
DeleteThe work at the airport is really progressing well
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the A6-10 gates to finally be renovated after 40 years.
DeleteIt seems these gates get left out all the time. In 2006 when they modernised the airport they didn't touch A6-A10 for some reason while all other gates got reconstructed. In 2012-2016 modernisation they didn't touch A6-A10 again. Now they will be done but seems like they will be the last to get reconstructed.
DeleteI'm glad they haven't downsized the project despite corona.
Deletesome optimistic signs
ReplyDeleteHow many passengers did BEG have last year?
ReplyDelete1,904,000
DeleteThis is a lovely statement! (airport operator VINCI said, “In Serbia, passenger numbers tripled compared to summer 2020) it is like 2020 was a fantastic year and now we are 3x better. Paper takes it all!
ReplyDeleteOther airports in the region are also having much better results than in 2020. SJJ, PRN, SPU etc. Paper takes that as well but you don't seem to object.
DeleteAnyone knows how to buy those flights to Gran Canaria from Belgrade operated by Smartwings? It was announced on this blog a few weeks back but no flights available on Smartwings website.
ReplyDeleteIt's sold through tour operator.
DeleteI looked online and there was nothing at tour operators. I think they gave up now that there is that volcano eruption.
DeleteThey did not give up. It's a German tour operator
DeleteVolcano has nothing to do with this island.
So a German tour operator is selling BEG-LPA but there is no ads for the holidays in Serbia? Good luck with that business model. lol
DeleteHow come we don't know when the new C gates will be operational? I see they closed C1 and C2.
ReplyDeleteThey said numerous times at the end of this year.
DeleteNew C gates (C7 and up) are expected to be open by the end of the year with single level for both arriving and departing passengers.
DeleteWork seen on some of the photos will add separate level for arriving passengers on top of existing C1-C6 gates and central security check but that work is expected to be finished in a couple of months.
Yet but by he end of the year is a vague term, hopefully it's early December. I can't wait for them to start operating. It will be fantastic. I am curious to see what extra things they add compared to what we saw until now.
DeleteWhat a pity that AF will not fly over the winter season.
ReplyDeleteDaily flights with the Embraerjet could get filled easily.
Last night YU-ARB flew to Shanghai .
ReplyDeleteCould it be a rehearsal for a sheduled flight Belgrade-Shanghai ?
Lol no, it carried vaccines
DeleteAre you sure? Serbia has a huge surplus in vaccines, highly doubt it needs more.
DeleteWill ASL interfere in SKP and increase their flights to BEG now that Windrose is gone? It seems that there was no demand for this route. SKP disappeared from their network but not BEG, LJU, TGD and Zagrab.
ReplyDeleteYou think ASL should increase flights because some airline failed in Skopje on a destination ASL doesn't even fly to? Ok...
Delete