Air Serbia: Belgrade - Seville / Malaga - Belgrade

Trip Report

Written by Stefan Bukovčić

Waking up excited and ready to finally feel the warm Spanish sun, my travel day began in Mirijevo. While I always think there should be a direct bus line from Mirijevo to the airport—just like the 607 from Banovo Brdo—my plan was to take the trusty line 72, which usually takes around an hour.

However, being a Saturday morning, bus 72 was nowhere in sight. Running short on time and with the departure fast approaching at 13:10, I decided to pivot, head down to Fontana, and catch the A1 shuttle bus (ticket: 400 RSD).

As we hit the highway, we ran into partial traffic congestion. Fortunately, the driver was experienced, utilized the hard shoulder, and we quickly bypassed the bottleneck. But once we exited toward the airport, an even bigger traffic collapse awaited due to roadworks near the Aviation Museum, causing several detours.

Thankfully, I still made it on time. Passport control at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is notably efficient, and I cleared it in under 10 minutes as always.

Flight JU588 (Belgrade to Seville)

Flight Details: Air Serbia

Route: Belgrade (BEG) to Seville (SVQ)

Date: October 10, 2026

Flight Number: JU588

Aircraft: Airbus A319-100 (Registration: YU-APE)

Scheduled / Actual Departure: 13:22 (Scheduled 13:10)

Scheduled / Actual Arrival: 16:40 (Scheduled 16:55)

Flight Time: 3 hours and 18 minutes

Boarding soon began. Interestingly, the gate agents started calling passengers for boarding in reverse seat order—from row 24 down to 15. I don’t recall Air Serbia doing this previously; it’s a procedure more commonly practiced by airlines like Vueling.

While waiting in the jet bridge tunnel, one of the flight attendants asked the Menzies ground staff whether the crew was supposed to receive one or two meals, given the 3.5-hour flight duration. The ground worker confirmed that only one meal was allocated. It looked like someone from the crew was extra hungry! 😁

I completely forgot to check the exact cabin load factor, but my impression was around 80%  (you can judge from the photos yourself)

Once airborne, the cabin crew served refreshing disinfectant wet wipes, followed by water and a beef sujuk sandwich (goveđi sendvič sa sudžuk kobasicom .

Seville Airport felt quite compact and manageable, with very little congestion at the time of arrival.

Stepping outside, the EA airport bus waiting right in front takes you straight to the city center for 6 euros.

(Note: Seville left a huge impression — easily the most cultured city I've visited in Spain, with exceptionally friendly locals and a wonderful energy that I’d recommend to anyone.)

Plaza de España

Royal Alcázar of Seville

From Seville to Malaga by Train

After a few days in Seville, I took the train to Malaga. I opted for a connection: Seville to Córdoba (a quick 40-minute ride), a one-hour layover, and then another hour from Córdoba to Malaga. A quick tip for anyone traveling by train in Spain: there are security scanners before boarding, so keep that in mind.

Security Screening Queue at Seville Train Station

Train cabin interior

Train Platforms with Trains in Córdoba

Málaga Railway Station

Arriving in Malaga, the atmosphere was quite different from Seville. Greeted by a pleasant breeze and slightly lower temperatures, Malaga is a nice city, but due to the sheer volume of tourists, it sometimes feels a bit stripped of that authentic, traditional Spanish vibe. It’s definitely a pure, relaxing seaside summer destination where international tourism takes center stage.

View of Plaza de Toros de La Malagueta

Panoramic View of Málaga Port and Coastline

Flight JU577 (Malaga to Belgrade)

Flight Details: Air Serbia (operated by Air Baltic)

Route: Malaga (AGP) to Belgrade (BEG)

Date: October 18, 2026

Flight Number: JU577

Aircraft: Airbus A220-300 (Registration: YL-ABP / Air Baltic wet-lease)

Scheduled / Actual Departure: 13:45 (Scheduled 13:00)

Scheduled / Actual Arrival: 16:48 (Scheduled 16:25)

Flight Time: 3 hours and 3 minutes

Heading back to Malaga Airport, I used the local metro/train network, which is brilliantly integrated. Even though it was raining outside, upon exiting the metro station, escalators lead straight into the terminal building, completely covered so you don't get wet at all.

Malaga Airport feels noticeably larger than Seville's. Arriving at the security checkpoint, the queue looked massive, leading me to fear a long wait, but the line moved surprisingly smoothly and quickly.

(A quick heads-up for duty-free shoppers here: double-check your prices. I picked up a Spain-themed scarf marked at 10 euros along with some sweets, but upon checking the receipt outside, I realized I was charged 17 euros instead).

Queue for the Duty Free check-out

Queue to order Costa Coffee

Head towards gate C38 for the Belgrade flight—right next to gate C40 serving Gatwick. Interestingly, a group of four guys lined up for the Belgrade flight, which initially made me think they were heading to the UK by mistake. Turns out, they were transferring via Belgrade onwards to Copenhagen.

Boarding commenced, and stepping onto an aircraft operated by Air Baltic, I immediately remembered—yesss! That automatically means inflight internet. Long live Starlink! The flight was exceptionally full, with only 5 seats left empty in economy.

While waiting at the gate, I got chatting with some friends from Wales—they mentioned that the Ryanair app had just sent them a notification that their flight (originally scheduled for 12:50) was delayed by half an hour. Sure enough, after we boarded on time, the captain soon made an announcement confirming that we wouldn't be pushing back for at least another hour either. Oh no, Groundhog Day! Exactly the same thing happened to me last year departing from Alicante when a pre-flight rainstorm delayed my Wizz Air flight by an hour. Nothing to do but sit back, wait, and take window photos. Right then, I also caught a glimpse of a suitcase actually falling off the conveyor belt as ground crew were loading the luggage into the Ryanair aircraft.

To top it all off, my seat neighbors were a couple whose in-flight etiquette left quite a lot to be desired. Barely had we settled in before she kicked off her shoes and propped her bare feet up on the seat. For a good portion of the trip, they were all over each other, kissing and making out as if they couldn't wait until they got home. At one point they fell asleep—she constantly slumped over onto my shoulder, while he sprawled his legs right out into the aisle. The flight attendant couldn't even push the cart past them and had to wake them up!

During the flight, the meal service featured a smoked chicken breast sandwich alongside water.

Arrival in Belgrade

Arriving back in Belgrade, passport control was quite congested. Another flight had landed around the same time, instantly creating a bottleneck right at the passport check area. Adding to the confusion, several passengers headed straight for the automated passport control e-gates, even though the display above clearly lists the eligible country flags for those devices.

As I stepped out into the cool Belgrade evening, Spain's warm sun felt already like a distant memory—leaving me, as always, already planning the next getaway. From Seville’s culture to Malaga’s coastal charm, this Spanish autumn escape was a wonderful reminder of why Air Serbia remains such a reliable and excellent choice for connecting us to Andalusia.

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