Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport plans to further expand its long-haul network in the coming years, with 2026 set to mark the fifth consecutive year in which a new destination is introduced in this segment. Speaking to Serbia’s public broadcaster “RTS”, Belgrade Airport CEO Chivoine Rem emphasised that the launch of additional long-haul services will remain a key priority in the period ahead. “One of the airport’s main development priorities will be Air Serbia’s introduction of a new long-haul route to Toronto, which will be of significant importance to the Serbian diaspora in Canada. At the same time, we will continue to strengthen and expand our medium-haul network”, Mr Rem added.
Since 2022, the airport has added nonstop services to Beijing, Chicago, Guangzhou and Shanghai, all of which ranked among Belgrade’s ten busiest unserved long-haul destinations prior to their launch. With Toronto, currently the largest unserved route by passenger demand, set to be added in May, the next most sought-after long-distance destinations from the Serbian capital include Miami, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, Bangkok and Boston.
Belgrade Airport offers discounts for the launch of new long-haul flights as part of its incentive policy. This entails discounts on the passenger service charge for departing passengers over a three-year span, as well as reductions in the passenger service charge for transfer passengers over the same period. Furthermore, for each new long-haul route, there is a 100% discount on landing fees during the initial year, followed by 70% in the second year and 50% in the third year of operations. In an effort to encourage the arrival of new long-haul carriers, the airport is providing an additional one euro per departing passenger for each new long-haul operator, along with an extra two euros if the route is maintained throughout the winter season as well.
Mr Rem did not give an estimate on how many passengers the airport would handle this year, noting, “It’s a bit early to talk about figures for 2026. However, I can say that this will be a year of expansion for Belgrade Airport in terms of infrastructure, including further terminal development, as well as the introduction of new destinations. We will also continue transforming the passenger experience, an area we have been working on since 2019. To give you an idea of our vision, our target is for passenger numbers to reach fifteen million by the end of the concession period in around 2045, and we are working towards establishing Belgrade as a regional hub in Southeast Europe”. He added, “For us as the airport operator, the number of destinations and direct routes available to passengers is more important than the sheer volume of airline services. In that respect, last year’s figures were also record-breaking. We had 116 direct routes to forty countries, including five long-haul services, to the United States and China. That is part of what we are striving to achieve as an airport operator – ensuring that Serbia is well connected with the rest of the world”.
Would be nice to get more long haul destinations/carriers.
ReplyDeleteOf course it would be nice, the issue is does JU really want to expand its long haul destinations further than what it has announced already?
DeleteAnd if not which destinations can attract a foreign carrier to come to Belgrade?
I could see more from China but we would struggle to attract airlines from the US, Canada, India.
JU has already announced that long term it plans South Korea and Japan flights. So far they have added a new long haul route every single year since 2023.
DeleteJU doesn't need new destinations, they need to densify what they have and to fix their onboard service and cabins.
DeleteThey are densifying their network.
DeleteIndigo launched flights to ATH from BOM and DEL and got into a codeshare partnership with Aegean for 10 destinations using A3's network.
DeleteAmong the 10 is BEG so it seems they see enough demand from our region to India.
It is a very fast growing aviation market and Indian middle class is over 200 million passengers eager to visit international destinations.
We could attract them too, their A321XLRs are ideal for our market and have BEG act as the regional feeding hub for these flights, hopefully with JU codesharing.
"so it seems they see enough demand from our region to India"
DeleteThey don't. If they did, they would launch flights to Belgrade. Since you are starting this debate for the 100th time here I will tell you what I have told you many times.
1) Greece has a large Indian diaspora
2) Greece has a large number of tourists from India, far larger than Serbia which has a negligible number of tourists from India. When talking about Greece, it is important to note it is one of the most visited countries in Europe
3) The EU has just concluded an agreement to flood the block with workers from India. So you will be seeing those diasporas grow even more
4) Air Serbia could fly to India, offering tickets at low prices to feed its flights to New York and Chicago and Toronto. That way, it would sell inexpensive tickets, hurting its own profitability as a seat taken up by a low paying transfer passenger from India could have been sold to a passenger from Serbia or the region at a much higher price.
For JU to densify its longhaul network, let alone launch new routes it would need to increase its A330 fleet.
DeleteI could definitely see the use of am A330-300 offering increased capacity to places like JFK and PVG.
@09:30
DeleteNo need for any of this drama. Indigo could be enticed to launch BEG, and JU offering codeshare flights to the region.
It isn't just Indian gastarbeiters who travel internationally but millions of Indian tourists too. It is a huge market
They are simply not interested. They are interested in flying to far larger markets such as Greece, Turkey, Netherlands, UK. Btw just 10,138 Indian passport holders entered Serbia in 2025 and just 710 in December.
Delete@09:33 i think you are way to confident in the size of that market. Indian tourists would only come in larger numbers if Serbia was visa free again. Otherwise there is minimal stand-alone interest. Rich Indians want Santorini and Amalfi...
DeleteIt’s not just India. It’s far more larger market in that area, like Nepal, Bangaldesh, Burna, from which a lot workers are already working in Serbia. Until JU and you got that, other companies will take the cream from the coffee
DeleteThere are barely any passengers from any of those markets to Serbia. Yes, you are right. Many airlines are fighting over flying to sanctioned Burma. The arguments of some people here are just bizarre.
DeleteFlight to India would also make sense given the amount of workers that are coming from India and neighboring countries to Serbia and Croatia, to where JU can provide great feed.
DeleteAbout 50+ thousand workers from India came to Serbia last year and that number is going to continue to grow. It makes perfect sense for Indigo to launch flights to Serbia. JU does not have the equipment needed for those flights at this point.
"About 50+ thousand workers from India came to Serbia last year"
DeleteThis is a complete fabrication, considering there are less than 20,000 workers from India in Serbia in total.
I don't see why are you trying to negate the truth. No matter how hard for you, you need to accept that more than 50.000 working permits are issued only in 2025. Those are legal only, with a lot more unregistered. And most of them are workers from Turkey, Russia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. Last four is in region we are debating.
DeleteHow is "50+ thousand workers from India came to Serbia last year" the truth? You yourself in your comment just confirmed it is a lie by saying "you need to accept that more than 50.000 working permits are issued only in 2025. " So no, it is not true that 50,000+ workers from India came to Serbia last year. In fact just 10,000 Indian passport holders entered Serbia last year (according to the statistics office), and most certainly not all of them went for work. Even if every single one of them came to work, it is far below 50,000+. And just so you know, workers from India do not travel extensively. You should know they are minimum wage employees who send 95% of what they earn back home. Most are here waiting to get documentation to go to the EU.
DeleteIndoa can work well, regardless of visas...
DeleteFive consecutive years with new long-haul destinations is no small achievement.
ReplyDeleteMost of it thanks to Air Serbia.
DeleteWell it is their home airport.
DeleteI hope Miami will happen.
ReplyDeleteBelgrade Airport’s incentive program for long haul flights seems quite generous
ReplyDeleteIt is
DeleteBravo Vinci!
DeleteAll that is great and fine but they are so incompetent. They still can't open those shops by the check-in area. I am shocked by their sheer incompetence, it's been like 3 years that they are about to open them.
ReplyDelete+1 its been a total mash-up job. Air Serbia is far better than Belgrade Airport actually is.
DeleteYou think they do not want these shops and collect rent?
DeleteIt is the state that has freeze the approvals after Novi Sad disaster and everyone is just shitting idly waiting God knows what.
Meanwhile JU can not even start working on its new and badly needed lounge...
Does anyone have any real info about those shops and why the delay? I've heard so many stories...
DeleteYou have been told many times. How many times are you going to ask the same thing.,
DeleteIt must be total mess with construction if they can't get permits this long. It's not like nothing is being built and opened after the Novi Sad, that's just nice excuse for their incompetence.
DeleteWhy do you ask a question you have already asked many times if you already have a prearranged answer in your head? Did you ask the question just so you yourself could write your answer? Yes, the problem are permits. You can easily check permit requests. They are public. You can also easily see how long it takes the government to respond to each since all requests and responses are dated.
DeleteI don't want to do that, couldn't care less for the speed of Serbian administration (and 11:05 is my first comment in this thread)
DeleteSo what exactly is the hold up with these specific permits about shops and new JU lounge in BEG?
DeleteIt has been years waiting, is there a rough estimate when these shops and lounge going to get approval to start construction work?
@15.14 how many more times are you going to ask the question after being given an answer. If you are unsatisfied with the answer which is visible through public documentation, I suggest you write directly to the Serbian government that you want to do shopping tours at the airport and need the stores open.
Delete^ What are you talking about?
DeleteThat is my first question on the subject. And I'm being specific and clear.
Do you have an answer to what I'm asking? And where exactly in public documentation it says WHEN construction work the shops and lounge be allowed to start?
Waiting for your answer patiently.
You all seem to ask the question "for the very first time" on the very same thread, which has been asked and explained thousands of time. Open the license application website, find the requests and you will see when permits were requested and how long it takes for the government to respond. How can someone tell you when they will open. You will have to write to the relevant ministry and ask them. It is highly likely they won't respond to you.
Delete^ No it doesn't say how long the permits for the shops and the lounge in BEG are going to take for the approvals to be given so that construction work can begin.
DeleteDo you have any info or you just can't stand people asking these questions?
Why do you get upset from it?
Since you have trouble reading, I will repeat
DeleteHow can someone tell you when they will open. You will have to write to the relevant ministry and ask them. It is highly likely they won't respond to you.
Everyone understands that you have nothing to contribute to the discussion, just to stop us from having it.
DeleteHopefully the ministry will allow the shops and the JU lunge to start construction this year so that they are at least ready for the EXPO.
Good. You finally read it and understood that someone here can not answer your question asked a 100 times when the shops will open. I do hope you write to the ministry though as much as you have asked the same question here on unrelated topics like this one.
DeleteSo happy I did not step into this discussion so far. But it is fascinating to see red tape blocking simple projects such as retail and food&beverage outlets at the airport terminal way beyond reasonable and justified time needed. Could be many reasons behind it, such as sheer incompetence of government bureaucrats, or a case of corrupted employee looking for a bribe to put his stamp of approval, or due to personal political views used to block and sabotage airport development percieved as regime's showcase project, or many other possibilities etc. Would love to know the real cause, wouldn't that be fun?
DeleteCome to vancouver pls
ReplyDeleteThe bilateral air agreement does not allow them more than 2 weekly flights to Canada. So it would have to be a Canadian airline.
DeleteIt is so restrictive. I don't understand that Canada is so protective against a relatively small market in the Balkans.
DeleteThat bilateral needs to be renegotiated.
DeleteIt was renegotiated just a few years ago.
DeleteSeems like a very bad negotiation took place if JU is only allowed two flights a week for the whole of Canada.
DeleteHas nothing to do with JU but with Canadian authorities and their protectionism of Air Canada. Read up on how restrictive they are. Even much bigger aviation markets can not get rights to fly there. Have a look at how many flights Turkish Airlines has to Canada and why.
DeleteI see that TK has a whole lot more than two flights a week to Canada.
DeleteSpecifically TK has 12 weekly flights to Canada. Why do we allowed only two?
Canadian authorities have denied Turkish Airlines approval for five additional weekly flights to Canada for the 2025 summer season, citing that such an expansion falls outside the current bilateral agreement. The carrier is currently restricted to 12 weekly flights. They have 12 weekly flights because Turkey has a population of 87 million people which is taken into account when such agreements are made. So you should take up your anger with Canadian authorities. Write to them your expert conclusions, maybe you change their mind.
DeleteThe population of Turkey is irrelevant. The demand is the important metric and Canada has many more people of YU decent than Turkish.
Delete^ You really are clueless. First, Air Serbia is not the flag carrier of "people of YU decent". It is the flag carrier of Serbia, which is the only thing that is relevant. Population size absolutely influences how bilateral agreements are negotiated and structured.
DeleteMarek should bite the bullet and launch LAX over MIA. They could pick up some Oceania traffic from there, too.
ReplyDeleteIf only… And he have enough capacity for both. But still he need some courage
DeleteBG-LAX on their current A330s is not a very attractive prospect.
DeleteSure they have capacity.... Some of you people really don't know how long these flights take and some of you don't know the volume of their long haul operations in summer. And with all that, if there is a storm in New York and the flight gets delayed, the entire long haul network would collapse with your proposed scheduling.
DeleteQuite apart from the fact that LAX would probably be deeply unprofitable for many years.
DeleteAnd would operate with load restrictions.
DeleteJFK was also unprofitable for 5 years. But now it is profitable. So would LA.
DeleteLA would be unprofitable for 20. It is also 6 hours further from New York.
DeleteAlso LA is really well connected with almost every city in south eastern europe either via Istanbul, London, amsterdam, Frankurt etc. JU would be fighting a mega battle on that front making it very tough.
DeleteSo is JFK, MIA, ORD... And if there's a storm in New York, all other companies will have meltdown, including JU. What a silly arguments we can read here, like a contest in stupidities.
DeleteNo, other companies won't have a meltdown because they have long haul fleets of over 50 aircraft, some even in the 100s. The stupidest comment award goes to you, for not realising the airline's size, the breadth of their long haul network or aircraft utilisation, suggesting they should launch routes for which a rotation would take at least 34 hours. Not to mention actual aircraft range, load restrictions and other factors like for example profitability. Thank goodness you don't run the airline. It would be bankrupt in 24 hours.
DeleteAha, and please, how long does rotation to PVG take? Utter stupidity is claiming that one without 50 widebodies should not fly somewhere because of possible storm. And JU flies to JFK literary 10 years now, with one, two, now four widebodies.
DeleteThe only stupid person here is you. It shouldn't fly there because it would be a loss making route that can bankrupt an airline with a fleet of barely 30 aircraft. Los Angeles is an additional 2.500 kilometres further than Shanghai is. And with their current fleet and planned summer operations, they could not operate these flights. In addition, Mr Einstein, a fully loaded A330-200 with passengers and cargo would have to operate with payload restrictions on the westbound service which would cement its unprofitability.
DeleteJU would have to find an a330-900 for LAX flights
DeleteBangkok would be a smart addition. Strong leisure demand, good onward connections and no direct competition in the wider region.
ReplyDeleteToo much competition price wise from Gulf carrier which have 10 daily flights to Bangkok.
DeleteThere’s competition pretty much everywhere, so let’s call it a day and lease back planes.
DeleteGulf carriers are not affordable long time ago, since the end of corona. If there’s enough demand, route would be profitable
They definitely need to find destinations to deploy their metal during the winter.
DeleteBangkok should be no-brainer, from my perspective.
I know they mentioned low yields on this route before, but I'm not really convinced that's the case anymore.
They are still sticking to the 15 million mark for 2045. That implies a total growth of 60% total for next 20 years, which is quite a low ball
ReplyDeleteThat means they expect very low annual growth if traffic is to be only 15 million 20 years from now.
DeleteThey are unable to support JU growth, that’s obvious. Very soon, JU will face restrictions due to undeveloped home airport
DeleteThe airport is full only at specific times. Airlines can choose to fly a little earlier or later and there is more than enough space.
Delete^ True dat!
DeleteAfter 14:00 there is more than enough gate space, more than enough security lines capacity and more than enough terminal space for a whole lot more flights than we currently have.
I know that, but JU need to fly in its waves to keep growing. And airport seems not to care about that
DeleteSo they plan like 60% pax number increase over a 20-year period? The name of which is stagnation.
ReplyDeleteWell unless Serbia becomes some new tourist mecca the levels of movement do have a hyperthetical ceiling. If Bucharest's planned new 2.5billion euro airport actually develops then aviation in the wider region might start to change by 2045.
DeleteNo need to be a tourist mecca. Just a transfer mecca.
DeleteThose already exist...
DeleteVinci and Government of Serbia has very bad concession agreement. Result is very slow growth with expensive services. Growth will be controlled with high prices. Serbia next government should break agreement. Result is that Tirana over run BEG, but with BEG predicted growth, BEG will be far behind almost every region airport
Delete"Result is that Tirana over run BEG"
DeleteTirana will over run OTP too. And it has nothing to do with concession agreements as you are very well aware.
Discontinuing a concession agreement because an internet expert is unsatisfied would result in a law suit worth at least half a billion in compensation. By that time, you will be angry about something else.
Tbh it seems like the half the Serbian government would be best replaced by internet experts. Couldnt be any worse
DeleteAnonymous 12:16
DeleteTrue dat.
US and Canadian carriers fly to a destination only if this is a big business or tourist one . Something that BEG for the time being is not .
ReplyDeleteIs TIA a big tourist destination for Canadians?
DeleteOnce weekly to a place with a diaspora and beaches sounds reasonable. Tirana will outpace Belgrade for a while yet because of the nature of its market.
DeleteIt is big enough to sustain a 1 weekly charter for a few months a year.
DeleteOther than some China megapolis and maybe Seoul, I can't see some real potential for new long haul route. US carriers are uninterested and JU is very conservative even for holiday charters. India perhaps.
ReplyDelete" JU is very conservative "
DeleteThey have opened a new long haul route every single year since 2023.
Yes they have but nothing new is in the sight. Which is fine, let them consolidate operations with new FF incentive, fleet and feeding and then we could see new l/h route.
DeleteSeoul and Tokyo are not among the top unserverd destinations from BEG. So we should focus to those mentioned in the article.
Delete@11.00 "Nothing new in sight"
DeleteMiami is in sight. Again, new long haul routes have been launched by this airline every single year for 4 years which is significant for a relatively small company. And you are still unhappy. Your sight is not a concern for them.
@11.01 what doe your comment have to do with anything. Air Serbia has said these two destinations are in their long term plans.
Some potential routes in the next years could be:
ReplyDelete- Air Serbia launching PEK
- Air Serbia launching MIA
- Some Canadian airline launching YYZ-BEG, possible cooperation with JU
- Xiamen Air or some other Chinese airline launching route to BEG
As for Tokyo, Seoul, Bangkok, not happening before 2030+. These markets still need to grow and mature for a direct service.
I think most likely cooperation between Air Serbia and some airline from Canada would be an interline from Toronto to a couple of destinations in Canada like YVR and YUL, if bilateral allows for that. Porter could be one of those airlines. But it looks like there is still approval pending for Air Serbia service to Toronto, and not sure if interline and other contracts, for example for Air Serbia lounge use at T3, could be signed before that approval is given? Could be wrong about this.
DeleteCan JetBlue’s A321XLR make it from BOS to BEG ?
ReplyDeleteNot both ways.
DeleteJU should launch more long haul destinations. In my opinion they could add more summer seasonal flights to the USA or wherever the demand is and then to operate winter seasonal flights to Zanzibar, Maldives, and other tropical destinations that are popular during the winter.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteVinci can put focus all it wants but unless JU decides to expand long haul destinations I don't see how BEG will gain more such routes.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately this is the situation.
DeleteMarek had said in the past that JU's longterm plan was to have 8 longhaul aircraft.
ReplyDeleteI could definitely see Miami, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, Bangkok and Boston routes being launched and with connections to the region , Bulgaria, Albania and Greece to be successful.
Thank goodness you are not the CEO as there would be no airline to run.
Delete5 services to United States are:
ReplyDeleteNew York, Chicago, and......?
Toronto is still part of Canada as far as I know
And also three to China?!? It seems that he is CEO of some other airport, not BEG
DeleteThere are 3 to China - Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. He obviously meant to say 5 long haul routes. Maybe he did say that but the translator in the interview interpreted it wrong.
DeleteRight now five in total, 2 to the US and 3 to China: Hainan to PEK, Air Serbia to PVG, China Southern and Air Serbia to CAN.
DeleteJU some time ago said they could go double daily on the JFK route instead of expanding elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a smart idea.