NEWS FLASH
The Serbian government and the state-owned company responsible for overseeing the concession of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport have inked an agreement for the overhaul and expansion of the Aeronautical Museum in Belgrade. The project involves the reconstruction of 6.000 square metres of the existing museum, as well as the construction of new facilities within the museum complex, including multipurpose hangars. “These have been carefully designed to blend seamlessly into the natural terrain while respecting the dominant position of the museum building itself “, the Ministry of Finance said. It added, “This attractive architectural landmark will regain its former glory. Our goal is to preserve the tangible testimonies that are crucial to the origins and development of aviation in our region”.
The overhauled and expanded museum will open its doors in 2027, prior to the start of Expo 2027, which will be held in Belgrade from May 15 that year. The area around the museum is expected to be transformed by mid-2027 with the opening of the Belgrade Airport train station, hotel and Air Serbia’s new headquarters.
Located next to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport’s control tower, the museum, formerly the Yugoslav Aeronautical Museum, is a unique facility. Opened in 1989, it features a collection of over 200 aircraft previously operated by the Yugoslav Air Force (both royal and communist), Serbian Air Force, and others, as well as aircraft previously flown by several commercial carriers including JAT Yugoslav Airlines. Stretching over 10.500 square metres, the museum also boasts 130 aviation engines, radars, rockets, various aeronautical equipment, over 20.000 reference books and technical documentation, as well as over 200.000 photographs. The museum has been closed to the public since 2020.
So they're giving the museum a new look but are destroying old airframes that they could add to said museum? Got it...
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts exactly. That B733 would be a wonderful addition to this. Balkanska posla pač…
DeleteThe museum will look very pretty though.
This looks like a massive overhaul, they're already tight on time.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know when JU will begin construction of its headquarters and hotel next to the museum?
They have started clearing land so probably soon.
Deletethere is no word if museum will be contacted to airport terminal?
DeleteBased on the renderings, no. It's difficult to connect it because there are a number of buildings around it.
DeleteUnbelievable, we are without museum for 5 years ago already, they just closed it for "few" months to renovate the stairs in front of the museum, and now they are deciding on renovation after five years of closure. Really sad.
ReplyDeleteWithout YU-AND...
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteYU - AND nedostajace zauvek. Na njemu sam leteo od Sidneja do Melburna prije 35 godina.
ReplyDeletePet godina je trunuo ispred Hangara. Sada svi ga zale. Ukljucujuci mene. Niko nije hteo da ga otkupi. Muzej je bankrotirao. B733 isecen. Da mi je bar jedna nitna sa tog aviona, za moju avio-memorabiliju. Ali nista od toga. Prohujalo sa vihorom.
Pozdrav iz prolecnog Sidneja.
YU-AND nikada nije leteo za Australiju.
DeleteFrom October 1989 to January 1990, “Delta” operated flights in Australia. Due to a pilot dispute, JAT unexpectedly wet-leased two Boeing 737s (-AND and -ANJ) to Australian Airlines. The delivery flight to "The Land Down Under" was operated via Chinghai (Madras) and Darwin before arriving in Melbourne. Besides Australian Airlines, the 737 also served Ansett in Australia. Neither of the two exist anymore.
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2025/08/the-complete-story-of-jats-iconic.html
Perfect timing to visit BEG again with the museum and the EXPO. I hope that the JU Caravelle and other aircrafts will be in full new colors, just a pity that they scrapped YU-AND 😥
ReplyDeleteSomebody should asked JU why they scrapped it, when they knew the museum will be renovated, and could have donated it to them, as their contribution to the aviation history.
DeleteI doubt money they got for it was the reason.
+1
DeleteI heard that it was in extremely bad shape. Conservation wasn’t performed on time, so the only possible solution was to scrapp it
DeleteAfter 5 years of the museum being closed and after the scraping of YU-AND, this is too little too late.
ReplyDeleteI am highly sceptical of the ability of the current responsible bodies and persons to complete such a project and in such a short time. I have fears that if this is indeed built that the quality of works will be in line with other works performed recently in Serbia.
The renders are easy to make, renovation/reconstruction/construction is something else. I do, however, like these renders and I would be happy to one day see something like this. Nothing will bring back YU-AND, but let's hope other historical airframes rotting in and around the airport will not meet the same fate.
Has Air Serbia made any official declaration as to what they did to YU-AND?
ReplyDeleteOfficially no, what I've heard is that airport wants all the wrecks out. The government was in talks about taking it and do to the current situation it didn't have money or interest and AS just didn't have a use for it or paying for it.
DeleteNow just to be clear this is what I've heard from people that work at the airport and Jat Tehnika.
So basically Vinci did this and not JU?
DeleteWasn't the aircraft JU's ownership, why they would have to pay anything?
Delete@14.29 No, it's not Vinci's property. It could only have asked JU to move it. JU could not be bothered and destroyed it.
DeleteCivil aviation will only play second fiddle in a museum owned and operated by the Ministry of Defence. New extensions are too small for civil aircraft that will be relegated to outdoor spaces. Recent destruction of first JU 737 was possibly result of that approach.
ReplyDeleteMilitary treats civil jets such as Caravelle as garden gnomes at best. They are not capable of understanding the importance of passenger aircraft and are unable to articulate vision for visitors to experience passenger cabin and interiors. Responsible government should have taken Musem away from them long time ago and should have restructured it as a separate instituion, much like National Museum.
DeleteThe running of the museum has been handed over to Aerodrom Beograd Nikola Tesla doo as of this year.
DeleteWhy is MoD signing the document then?
DeleteThe musum is in the Ministries portoflio but like I said Aerodrom Beograd doo has been handed over the running of the museum, which is exactly why it signed the documents with the ministry. Read the first sentence of the article.
DeleteIf Airports running museums was a good idea, others would have done it already.
DeleteThere are numerous examples across the world. It is is also not unique that MoD runs an aeronautical museum as well, like for example Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Paris Le Bourget.
DeleteBeen at Le Bouget and almost all large aviation museums. Except two Concordes other modern civil aircraft were outside in Paris. US airforce runs stunning Dayton museum but that's military only. Best mix of civil/military museums around the world are not owned or MoD and run by commmercial airports.
DeleteAerodrom Beograd Nikola Tesla doo does not run Belgrade Airport. You really need to read the first sentence of the article.
DeleteThis is unlikely to be completed on time as other, more critical EXPO projects start falling behind schedule.
ReplyDeleteWould be nice if the old air control tower would also somehow get integrated into this project and turned into a museum part (Airport Ground-to-Sky section) and visitor flight observatory.
ReplyDeleteI am hopeful this is completed on time. Even if it isn't, it is a great thing to have next to the airport. Maybe a skywalk to the Airport for transfer passengers to visit?
ReplyDelete