Jat Airways development strategy on October 23

The Government of Serbia has announced that the development strategy of Serbia’s national airline, Jat Airways, should be drafted and complete by October 23, 2008. The plan outlines the short and medium term development of the airline so that the airline can, in the shortest period, continue to grow and develop. The Serbian Prime Minister, minister of the economy and infrastructure minister met with Jat Airways’ management where it was discussed which direction the airline should take in future development. A work group has been formed, consisting of minister advisors and employees from Jat Airways, which are putting together the development strategy and the direction the airline should take. The work group will prepare the strategy by Thursday, October 23 when all the ministers of the Serbian government meet so that the strategy can be immediately passed by the government and put into action.

The privatisation of the Serbian carrier failed when no airline responded to the government’s tender. The government is trying to act on the issue as soon as possible as it has had a lot of criticism directed towards it for the privatisation failure and the neglect of the airline in the past years. The government has promised it will provide a financial injection for the immediate purchase of new aircraft. The type of aircraft and the amount of money needed will be determined in the development strategy report.