Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport experienced major disruption on Wednesday evening after a security breach resulted in the mixing of screened and unscreened transfer passengers, forcing the evacuation of its transfer zone and the introduction of extraordinary security checks. The incident, which occurred at approximately 17:00 local time, resulted in widespread flight delays, with Belgrade at one point ranking as the most disrupted airport in the world, according to flight tracking platform Flightradar24. The incident marks another serious security lapse at the airport, which has experienced several similar incidents over the past three years.
The disruption reportedly began when a passenger arriving from a country whose travellers are required to undergo additional security screening before transferring to another flight pressed an emergency door release button that was not being supervised and entered the airport's transfer area. This resulted in unscreened arriving passengers mixing with departing passengers who had already completed security checks, compromising the integrity of the restricted area. Under aviation security regulations, the affected zone could no longer be considered secure, requiring passengers and staff to vacate the area and undergo screening again before being permitted to return. This led to massive queues at passport control and security, although passengers were handed out bottles of water.
— kikoula (@kikoula2) October 7, 2026
In their statement, both Belgrade Airport and Air Serbia attributed the incident to a lapse by one of the ground handling service providers, although they did not identify the company responsible. "Due to a lapse in the operations of one of the companies providing ground handling services at Belgrade Airport, an event occurred today around 5:00 PM involving irregular passengers' movement", the airport said. The incident caused significant disruption to flight operations during one of the airport's busiest evening departure waves. Flights began departing only at around 19:30, and operations had fully stabilised by the start of the midnight wave of departures.
It is not the first time a breakdown in passenger handling procedures has resulted in serious disruption at Belgrade Airport. On January 21, 2024, arriving passengers from an Air Serbia flight from Skopje were mistakenly transported to the wrong gate, causing them to mix with passengers who had already cleared security. The entire terminal had to be evacuated and passengers were required to undergo security checks again. Operations were brought to a standstill for more than three hours. Further security lapses occurred in January 2025. On January 8, an unauthorised individual gained access to a critical part of the airport's security restricted area without undergoing the required screening. Less than two weeks later, on January 20, an unauthorised vehicle entered the airport's restricted operational area through a gate operated by aircraft maintenance provider JAT Tehnika and drove across the apron before leaving the premises. Both incidents prompted investigations by Serbia's Civil Aviation Directorate.
Following its investigations into the two January 2025 breaches, the Directorate ordered a series of corrective measures. These included four immediate measures following the January 8 incident and fourteen additional measures directed at airport operator Belgrade Airport and ground handling companies Sky Partner and Menzies Aviation. A further thirteen measures were ordered following the January 20 incident, involving JAT Tehnika, Belgrade Airport and Air Serbia. The regulator also announced criminal and misdemeanour proceedings against several individuals and companies, as well as penalties against the airport operator and responsible personnel.
Is it known which handling company was responsible?
ReplyDeleteDid you read the article?
DeleteMenzies
DeleteYes, I did. "Due to a lapse in the operations of one of the companies providing ground handling services". I asked is it known which one. There are several at BEG.
Delete@9.03 I expected as much. I have found the Menzies staff doing check in for Air Serbia to be extremely rude and lacking basic training.
DeleteSeptember month in Belgrade was extremely strong.
Delete^ how is that related to anything?
DeleteThey don't want to name Menzies because they are part of government + Air Serbia family.
DeleteLOLthe "menzies is part of the gouvermant". Stop embarrassing yourself. This is known incident in almost all big airports .
DeleteBit hard for Menzies to be part of the government since they are a non Serbian company, a new government can be elected in Serbia but that wont change how Menzies operates. People need to understand how things work around the world
DeleteYou can lol all you want but it certainly is. The Menzies that operates in Serbia is a purchased franchise run from Montenegro.
Delete@12.21 I explained it to you here. Since you obviously don't understand how things work in Serbia.
DeleteAt this point, it is becoming embarrassing. How many times does the same airport have to experience a security breach before someone takes responsibility? We are not talking about a minor delay or a broken escalator. This is a failure of airport security procedures.
ReplyDelete2x
DeleteAs of now, there may be more.
DeleteEssentially what happens when you understaff, overwork, undertrain and underpay your people...
ReplyDeleteBurazerska ekonomija works where no international protocols need to be followed, not here luckily
This is the problem with outsourcing everything to the lowest bidder. Eventually, you end up with poorly trained, understaffed teams and nobody willing to accept responsibility when something goes wrong.
DeleteLove the term."Burazerska Ekonomija"......all "ispod žita" and based on "veze" "kume"....and the results are visible in Serbia at any level in any place.
DeleteStop it already with your Balkan inferiority complex. This is literally the case everywhere in Europe. Highly unqualified workers that are extremely overworked and severely underpaid have been put everywhere in aviation, and not only. Contracts are being awarded to the lowest bidder by default, and you have one ramp agent handling 3 airplanes, and one pushback truck for 5 airplanes, while there are only a limited number of busses and drivers available at any moment. Very often the bus driver is also the one operating the stairs or the jet bridge, or even worse yet the pushback truck. If you're ever wondering why your 20EUR flight is constantly delayed, there's the truth first hand. Trust me when i tell you we are all extremely lucky no major accidents have happened so far. The amount of mistakes that we have to rectify on the daily when operating is just insane. But, we're all just cogs in a wheel unfortunately.
Delete+100
DeleteThis has nothing to do with the staff, it was the passenger action to enter the enter where it says restricted area DO NOT ENTER, and alarm went off. Balkan people are just soo negative about everything , and they love to blame everyone possible except the person responsible for it.
DeleteNo alarm went off and you have no idea which door we are talking about. It is the one that must have a person there during disembarkation that connects the airbridge with the departure gate. Both Belgrade Airport and Air Setbia said it was the ground handlers fault precisely because it is a requirement for a person to be at that door.
DeleteCorrective action would be to hire more people, train them better, increase their salaries, have more frequent inspections. That costs money, so increase airport and other fees paid by passengers and airlines. That will make airport more expensive, so price-sensitive airlines might leave... wait, let me get back on track - airport will become more secure.
DeleteWell to the guy above - this DOESN’T happen all over Europe, that’s the point. Something specific is happening here and people are trying to identify it.
DeleteThe fact that a passenger could simply press a button and enter a restricted area is unbelievable. Why was nobody supervising that door in the first place? Surely this is one of the most basic responsibilities of ground handling staff.
ReplyDeleteTogether with the recent Split incident, shows how low is a general air travel knowledge. Let alone the Ground Handling agent's mistake. That person cutting it's way to a gate also shows a low level of a general culture.
DeleteI don’t see the issue. Emergency exists are for emergencies and should always open for whoever. Of course, it should trigger alarm, but it’s unreasonable to man every door.
DeleteThis is not an emergency door. It is the door at the end of the air bridge to enter the gate of the terminal. This is the door transfer passengers can go through if arriving from a country that does not require additional security screening. And yes, it is required that this door is manned during every disembarkation.
DeleteIt is an emergency door, because it is a way out of a certain area, and the switch on the door is clearly marked as emergency, it is green, so highly visible... Anyway, the door should open to anyone, but also there are solutions to this. Such as, delayed opening - alarm sounds immediately, and the door is opened after a person holds the button for 10-15 seconds. That provides time for security to react, and also if someone is using this in a non-emergency situation to give it up and realize that this is not the right door to open.
DeleteBut all that said, signage and the way they did these doors and passenger flow is bad by design. For someone arriving at BEG for the first time, it is totally unclear what they should do. And, to add another point here, the signage says go through the door for Transit, or up the stairs for Exit to Belgrade. So, the person went right where he was supposed to, according to signage.
My flight was delayed by an hour and a half on arrival. There were a few transfers to Larnaca which were worried about making their flight. By the time I arrived, everything was back to normal. It was lucky that yesterday Air Serbia did not have a massive departure wave at midnight.
ReplyDeleteMind you, not a single announcement on the Air Serbia flight about the delay, why the flight was delayed or a single announcement about transfer flights. Perhaps cabin crew should, during training, be told that many of the airline's passengers are transfers.
DeleteOf course there was. On X, Instagram and Facebook I saw
DeleteI said on the flight. Doubt many passengers are hanging out on their social media.
DeleteSo, how do you think they should announce delays? Calling every passenger separately?
DeleteLufthansa sends a SMS message if a flight is delayed, even if by only 30 mins.
Delete@10.30
Delete- I think that when passengers get onboard they should start their announcement by apologising for the delay.
- Before arrival, they could read out the gate information for connecting flights, like they do at many airlines.
Ryanair have their nice user-friendly app.
DeleteAnd no one will face consequences and in 6-12 months same thing will happen.
ReplyDeleteThe way Menzies became BEG's largest handler should be investigated.
ReplyDelete+1
Deletewith big support from the government. How else?
DeleteDid Menzies and Air Serbia form a Joint Venture? That was talked about and reported here.
DeleteI find it interesting that both the airport and Air Serbia immediately blamed a ground handling company without naming it. If the contractor was responsible, why not identify them?
ReplyDeleteI actually think the airport reacted correctly once the breach was discovered. They had no choice but to evacuate everyone and repeat the screening process. The real question is how the breach was allowed to happen.
ReplyDeleteThe reaction was without doubt the right one.
DeleteVery unfortunate for the passengers who had to queue for hours, but also don't forget the staff at security check points who had more work and probably had to stay longer.
One incident can be considered an unfortunate mistake. Two incidents might indicate a problem. But when similar things happen repeatedly over three years, it suggests something is fundamentally wrong with procedures and supervision.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree. Something is wrong that is currently specific to BEG, unfortunately.
DeleteLet's not exaggerate. Airports across Europe experience security incidents, and procedures exist precisely to deal with them. The fact that operations were restored by midnight shows that the response was relatively efficient.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Whilst i dont live in Serbia i use the airport 6/7 times a year for decades and I can count only two times i had any issues and it was due to severe weather events. General operations there for an airport that size are remarkably efficient I find.
DeleteWell, like people above already said, this is simply not true. Airports don’t experience this across Europe - unless you can name an airport in Europe that experienced 3-4 massive security breaches in less than 2 years? Forcing total evacuations? Then I stand corrected.
DeleteLisbon has had two if i remember. But yep its not a good look for Belgrade.
DeleteAnd who is running LIS :D
Delete^ Hahaha-Thats it! Good observation.
DeleteBelgrade has worked hard to develop its position as a regional transfer hub. Incidents like this damage the airport's reputation far more than management seems to realise. Connecting passengers have plenty of alternatives.
ReplyDeleteI wouldnt exagerate too much. We aviation fans know that places like Schiphol or Heathrow have have had major issues over the years and yet we, not to mention the general public, still use them with regularity.
DeleteIt’s not exaggeration when it’s true. I agree with him and those were my thoughts exactly. You can’t have pride disable you to admit something is clearly wrong.
DeleteLet's just hope that someone will not target BEG as a security low airport and to try something bad
ReplyDeleteHow is it possible that the airport has experienced multiple security breaches, investigations, penalties and corrective measures, yet we are still discussing passengers entering areas where they should not be? Clearly, something is not working.
ReplyDeleteProbably because the staff responsible for the breaches are different staff on each occasion.
DeleteThe passenger should not have pressed an emergency release button, assuming it was clearly marked. However, an airport security system cannot depend on every passenger behaving correctly. That is precisely why safeguards and supervision exist.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but if someone is to stand by that door 24/7, that means a handful of employees more.
DeleteThey don't have to stand there 24/7. You stand there when passengers are disembarking the plane.
DeleteWell, OK, but someone needs to be alert for that.
Delete^ yes I agree. What I'm trying to say is that this was completely avoidable.
DeleteSo who is going to pay for it?
ReplyDeleteNo one.....unfortunate incident.
DeleteIt's not unfortunate it was avoidable and due to poor operations and training of staff by Menzies, first and foremost
DeleteVinci have turned out to be a terrible concessionaire.
ReplyDeleteAt many airports actually.
DeleteThis incident has nothing to do with Vinci but with the ground handler. Where Vinci is good, bad or terrible is another topic.
Delete^ The airport operator cannot simply wash its hands of responsibility by pointing at a contractor. Ultimately, it is responsible for ensuring the airport operates safely and that all companies working within it follow the required procedures.
Delete@09:38 I agree. There is little to love about their operation of the place.
DeleteI have travelled through Belgrade several times this year and generally found the airport much better than before. However, these recurring security incidents are worrying and completely undermine the improvements elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThere is a distinction between an airport being modern and an airport being well managed. You can build new piers, install fancy equipment and renovate the terminal, but none of that matters if basic procedures are not followed.
DeleteAgree.
DeletePeople are understandably angry, but I would rather be delayed for three hours than have security procedures ignored just to keep flights departing on time. The evacuation was inconvenient but necessary.
ReplyDeleteWell if airports wish to retain their IASA and OSS status they need to take any issues seriously and openly so yep, better one day of delays and bad publicity than getting in trouble internationally.
DeleteMožete do sutra da pljujete radnike aerodroma za ove svinjarije ali sa onako debilnom organizacijom prostora i tokova putnika koji su jedna skarabudževina sa sve onim kokošinjcem od dolaznog gejta do pasoške sa sve crossover om ka odlascima preko tih bednih vratanaca ovakve stvari ima da se ponavljaju i na dalje. Ko je projektovao je kriv jer taj evropski prosečan aerodrom video nije.
ReplyDeleteI to je tačno. Budževina za medalju.
DeleteRealno. Sta Vinci zna o aerodromima, imaju ih manje od 80 u portfoliju. Lako je nama kad imamo anonimne komentatore sa toliko znanja.
DeletePa otidi na neki od aerodroma koje vode. Smatraju se medju najgorima, pocev od Lisabona.
DeleteDon’t put people down who comment here. You don’t know what kind of experiences they have. They might often know more than the people in charge.
DeleteThat passenger should be baned, smarta*s.
ReplyDeleteIt can happen at any airport.
ReplyDeleteBut it keeps happening at BEG.
DeleteDobro je, nisu bili Makedonci ovaj put... haha 😅
ReplyDelete:)))
DeleteIt would be interesting to compare the penalties imposed after the previous incidents with the financial losses suffered by airlines and passengers. If penalties are insignificant, there is very little incentive to address systemic problems.
ReplyDeletehanding out water to passengers was a reasonable gesture. Nevertheless, the priority should be preventing these incidents rather than improving the response after they occur.
ReplyDeleteEs gab keine Wasserflaschen!! Ich stand dort gestern über eine Stunde das zweite Mal an diesem Tag an. Durchsagen auf Englisch? Fehlanzeige.. da hat man in Serbien wohl nicht nötig. Eine Info von Air serbia gab es auch nicht. Nie wieder!!!
Delete@12.15 even in the video in this post you can see that they are handing out water bottles.
DeleteDear Mr. Anon from Germany. Check the video as comment below yours.
DeleteAnd what could AirSerbia tell you, "dear passenger, as you can already see we are late and we don't know for how long."
Why something tells me you are actually not even a German?!
With the amount of connecting traffic Belgrade handles nowadays, passenger segregation should be absolutely watertight.
ReplyDeleteThere should be an independent investigation and its conclusions should be made public. We keep hearing about corrective measures following every incident but passengers deserve to know whether these measures actually result in any changes because so far it does not look like it..
ReplyDeleteI can think of many things that need that..
DeleteAny idea from what flight this passenger came from?
ReplyDeleteDifficult to conclude. It is obvious that it happened on the Air Serbia wave of afternoon arrivals between 4 and 5pm but there were over 20 flights arriving during this period.
DeleteMust have been a delight last night for passengers from Barcelona and Paris who landed at 2am instead of 11pm.
ReplyDeleteWell JU585 from BCN landed at 2AM a day earlier, when everything was peachy at BEG. Stats tells us that this flight is 45 min+ late 85% of time!
DeleteIs it known from which destination the passenger arrived?
ReplyDeleteAnd just now a refuelling truck hit and damaged a Fluydubai MAX 8. Crazy
ReplyDeleteBravo Vinci
Deleteyes, they are the worst and bloody cops on passsport check ups are always too lazy or too few
ReplyDeleteThis year, a similar case in Hamburg, and during the summer in Brussels, Lisbon, Amsterdam and Paris.
ReplyDelete