Vintage photos celebrating the rich legacy of the aviation industry in the former Yugoslavia, published by EX-YU Aviation News throughout 2026
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| The Yugo GVX en route to the US, Belgrade Airport, 1987. In the summer of 1985, Yugo cars, manufactured in Kragujevac, began being exported to the United States in what became known as the "Deal of the Century", the last major commercial agreement between the two countries before Yugoslavia’s collapse. Between 1985 and 1991, nearly 150.000 Yugo vehicles were shipped by air and sea. Priced at just $3.990, it remains the cheapest new car ever sold on the US market. Today, around 200 Yugo cars are still registered in the United States |
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| First JAT B727 on the production line, 1974. JAT signed an agreement for the purchase of two Boeing 727s on December 20, 1973, with the first delivered factory fresh from Boeing on June 10, 1974 and the second on June 14 (YU-AKA and YU-AKB). That year, JAT ordered its third B727 which was to be paid in the export of Yugoslav goods, with the jet delivered in December that year. A further two were delivered in 1975 and another two in 1980. JAT’s last two B727 were delivered in 1981. The airline would gradually begin replacing the jets in 1985 with the delivery of its first B737. The B727s became a backbone of the airline’s medium-haul network, linking Yugoslavia with key destinations across Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The B727 was particularly well suited to JAT’s network thanks to its ability to operate from shorter runways and airports with limited infrastructure, which was important for several coastal and regional airports in the former Yugoslavia |
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| JAT’s sales office in downtown Paris, 1980 (31 Boulevard des Italiens). Located close to the Palais Garnier, on the junction of two main boulevards – des Italiens and des Capucines, the airline and the Tourist Association of Yugoslavia shared the exclusive premises. The office space is today occupied by BNP Paribas. The carrier opened its Paris office in 1952 and also had a sales section in Lyon as well. The Paris office employed fourteen people, including locals from France. JAT maintained nonstop flights from Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Dubrovnik and Split to the French capital |
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| Belgrade Airport Terminal 2 under construction, 1978. Belgrade Airport underwent a large-scale modernisation project in the late 1970s, which was closely linked to the rapid growth of JAT Yugoslav Airlines and its long-haul expansion with the arrival of new DC10 aircraft. The centrepiece of the modernisation effort was the construction of a new passenger terminal building, designed to dramatically increase the airport’s capacity and improve passenger handling. The runway and taxiway systems were also upgraded to support heavier wide-body aircraft operations, while the existing Terminal 1 was also modernised. Passenger boarding bridges were added to each gate, check-in halls and departure lounges expanded, and customs, passport control and baggage handling facilities were improved |
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| Portorož Airport ad, 1986. “Portorož at your fingertips. The Istrian riviera even closer, linked with air service”. On June 2, 1980, the Yugoslav federal authorities granted Portorož Airport permission to operate as a civilian commercial airport for both domestic and international passenger flights. This decision enabled the airport to begin handling scheduled and charter services, particularly linked to tourism along the Adriatic coast. Additional infrastructure such as a control tower, border crossing facilities and meteorological services were introduced soon after. Throughout the 1980s, further upgrades enabled the airport to handle larger turboprop aircraft. Improvements continued later in the decade with the construction of additional hangars, a fire station and the installation of runway lighting in 1989, enabling night operations |
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| Osijek Airport, 1988. Osijek Airport was officially opened on May 31, 1980. The first scheduled flight departed just two days later, when a JAT DC-9 took off for Zagreb, marking the launch of regular commercial services from the city. From the outset, cargo traffic played an important role in the airport’s development. Slavonia’s strong agricultural and industrial base generated demand for reliable and efficient air freight links, particularly for time-sensitive shipments. To further strengthen its logistics capabilities, a dedicated cargo terminal was constructed in 1982. In the years leading up to the break-up of Yugoslavia, Osijek Airport boasted flights to several cities. They included Zagreb, Belgrade, Split and Dubrovnik by JAT. In the summer of 1991, shortly before the outbreak of war, Adria Airways operated weekly services to Split, while Croatia Airlines maintained two weekly flights to Split and Dubrovnik. The airport also occasionally served as an alternate for Belgrade during periods of poor weather or runway works |
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| JAT Yugoslav Airlines advertisement promoting Dubrovnik on the French market, 1970. The copy reads: “JAT offers you the shortest route to the sun and the famous Adriatic coast”. Over the years, the carrier expanded its summer network from Dubrovnik, introducing numerous nonstop and transatlantic services. During its last summer, in 1990, these included nonstop flights from Dubrovnik to Barcelona, Belgrade, Birmingham, Brussels, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Linz, Ljubljana, London, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Maribor, New York, Nice, Ohrid, Ostrava, Prague, Split, Toronto, Venice, Vienna, Zagreb and Zurich |
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| Passengers board an Inex-Adria Dash 7 on its first international service. Inex-Adria's Dash 7 aircraft, delivered in January 1984 to help support domestic traffic for the 1984 Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, were deployed onto international flights for the first time in December 1984, with the first service being between Munich and Ljubljana |
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| JAT’s sales office in downtown Split, 1978. Located on Obala maršala Tita (today known as Obala hrvatskog narodnog preporoda), the premises of the former JAT office today house the Split Tourist Board |
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| Adria Airways' first A320 undergoing painting in April 1989 prior to delivery. The aircraft was the 43rd A320 ever produced, the first A320 in Yugoslavia's register (YU-AOA) and the first A320 powered by new IAE engines
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| Loading a JAT DC-9 with cargo, London, 1971 |
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| Belgrade Airport, 1988. During the airport’s modernisation project in the early 1980s, which saw the construction of a second terminal and the addition of air bridges, the airport adopted a green and black colour scheme across the facility. Its black rubber studded flooring, typical of public buildings at the time due to its durability and easy maintenance, alongside its recognisable green check-in desks, would form part of Belgrade Airport until its first major post-Yugoslavia overhaul in 2004 when both were removed |
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| Engine replacement on Inex-Adria DC-9 in 1985. The aircraft is parked at night during heavy maintenance, with a Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine replacement taking place. Inex-Adria had strong in-house technical capability, with engine changes and overnight maintenance carried out by local crews to keep aircraft flying intensive schedules the following day |
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| JAT and Air Yugoslavia ad for long-haul operations, 1984. Air Yugoslavia was JAT’s charter division. It utilised JAT aircraft and crew but had its own IATA code (JR). In 1984, Air Yugoslavia added Los Angeles as a charter destination, operating several flights to the city for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games. Three years later, JAT would launch scheduled services to the City of Angels, initially as a summer seasonal route but quickly extended to year-round operations |
Great stuff, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have some vintage photos that I can email you. Can you provide an email address that I can contact you at?
ReplyDeleteThanks. You can contact at exyu@exyuaviation.com
DeleteJust found about this...ahhh those were the times. JAT was then greater than Emirates.
ReplyDeleteThanks for great content.
Nice collection, thanks !
ReplyDeleteOh my brilliant thanks for that
ReplyDeleteSuch a pleasant glance to the past...
ReplyDeleteThis all made me cry! I traveled a lot in my life, but I'll always remember flight from Sydney to Belgrade under the bomb scare threat in December of 1988. JAT was an incredible company back then. That is what memories are made of!
ReplyDeleteDear ex yu admin, I do not know are you reading comments, but I want to thank you for all of these great vintage photos. Today when everyone want to earn at every step you share photos without logo or watermark, avalibale to all. Especially I want to thank you for couple of your latestes photos, which I have never seen before on the net or in the JAT books. Thank you
ReplyDeleteI like your vintage photos. Absolutly great. I flew in 1975 with an Aviogenex TU 134 from Dusseldorf to Dubrovnik on a Fam trip.
ReplyDeleteJU felt like the Emirates of airlines back in the 1980s, innovative, agile and profitable!
ReplyDelete2nd last photo at the bottom-the tedious work of issuing flight tickets before computerization. Because I used to work in travel agents(back in the 90s) So 1 of my senior managers used to talk about the tedious manual airline ticketing job which sometimes led to a crammed hand.
ReplyDelete