The first commercial flight between Belgrade and Zagreb was launched by Aeroput on February 15, 1928. Journalists and photographers from Belgrade landed at the old Borongaj Airport in Zagreb in a Potez 29 aircraft at noon. That same afternoon, the return service was operated with Zagreb-based journalists on board from publications such as “Riječi”, “Novosti”, “Jutarnji list”, “Morgenblatt” and “Hrvat”. The aircraft was piloted by Aeroput Founder and General Manager Tadija Sondermajer. The Belgrade - Zagreb route was extended to Graz and Vienna from March 31, 1930. With the outbreak of the Second World War, flights between the two cities were suspended.
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| First passangers on the Belgrade - Zagreb service, February 15, 1928 |
Services between Belgrade and Zagreb resumed on April 15, 1946 and were operated via Zadar. Flights ran each Monday, Wednesday and Friday and passengers were permitted only fifteen kilograms of baggage each. They were seated on wooden panels along the fuselage of military planes which initially operated on the route. Nonstop flights between the two largest cities of the former Yugoslavia were launched on May 6 that same year.
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| Excerpt from the "Motor" magazine describing the first Zagreb - Belgrade flights |
On April 1, 1947, the first aircraft bearing the JAT Yugoslav Airlines logo flew between Belgrade and Zagreb. Services ran every day, with the daily “Politika” reporting from Zagreb, “The first plane of the season arrived from Belgrade on schedule at 09.45. Four passengers, members of the Ministry for Industry, were on board. At exactly 10.30 the plane left for Belgrade with a greater number of passengers”. Flights were operated with the DC-3.
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| Arrival of the first commercial flight from Belgrade at Zagreb Airport |
As the years passed, JAT began developing Zagreb Airport into its own hub, with the launch of several international routes. On June 15, 1975, the airline introduced flights from Belgrade to New York via Zagreb.
After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the first multi-party elections in Yugoslavia in 1990, the first signs of a serious crisis appeared. The onset of events would shake the foundations of the common state and bring about its breakup, war and destruction. The political and economic situation in Yugoslavia was becoming alarming. In late January and early February 1991, JAT refused to pay its dues at Zagreb Airport, while Zagreb Airport refused to service JAT aircraft. The Yugoslav carrier operated its last flight from Zagreb to Belgrade on August 6, 1991. The period to come marked the longest the two cities went without scheduled flights between each other. It took over 23 years for flights to resume. On December 12, 2014 Air Serbia resumed operations between the two cities, which continue to run today.
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| JAT marks 50th anniversary of Belgrade - Zagreb flights in 1978 |