New Zagreb Airport terminal designcreates controversy

Zagreb Airport is set to quadruple in size according to its expansion. The main hub of Croatia will get a new terminal which will enable five million passengers to travel through it every year, compared to the current capacity of two million. The new design (pictured above) was unveiled earlier during October. Current facilities are expected to be renovated by next summer, while the new building is created 2.5km north-east of the existing structure. Boško Matković, the airport’s director, said that the project is finally coming to a realisation 20 years after it was first proposed. He added: "We now have to request a construction permit, the drawing up of implementation projects and issue a tender for contractors. If everything goes to plan, we expect the works to be completed by the end of 2011 or the beginning of 2012”. However things are not going to plan.

An anonymous person has filed a report that Jure Radić, Branko Kincl and Velimir Neidhardt plagiarised their project for Zagreb’s new airport from Osaka airport, by the architect Renzo Piano. The report was given to the chamber of architects and engineers of construction. The chamber confirmed that there is no valid signature on the report, so they do not know who reported the architectural proposal for Zagreb’s new Pleso airport. The report requests that Radić, Neidhart and Kincl have their permits permanently revoked because of the plagiarism. The report also says that the competition was set up, and that people were professionally incompetent to notice a copy. It also said the architects who evaluated the work should have their licences revoked, which includes Jerko Rosino. The winning design caused controversy in Croatia as many believed there were much better designs. The airport authorities in Zagreb said that the allegations of plagiarism are nonsense.

To view the designs in order of the prize it received follow this link. Once there scroll down the page and make your own judgment if the best design won.

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Croatia Airlines to order 4 Airbus A319s

The leading airline in the EX-YU region, Croatia Airlines, has signed a firm contract with Airbus for the purchase of 4 Airbus A319 aircraft. The aircraft will join the fleet in 2012 and 2013 while the cost of the deal is currently unknown. The aircraft will have a two class layout with a capacity of 132 seats and will be deployed both on domestic and international services. The new order brings to a total of 12 Airbus aircraft in the fleet. The Croatia Airlines fleet currently consists of 4 Airbus A319s and 4 A320s as well as 2 new Bombardiers Dash 8-400s (with another 2 two join the fleet next year, replacing the two current ATR42s one of which is leaving the fleet on the 25th of October this year with its last flight from Zagreb to Podgorica). The airline can activate another 4 options for the Bombardier aircraft. By next year the fleet size should consist of a total of 12 aircraft. The average age of the Croatia Airlines fleet stands at 9.3 years. Croatia Airlines has the youngest fleet out of all the national carriers from the EX-YU republics.

"This strategic decision will allow us to meet the future demand of our customers with the most modern, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft," said Ivan Mišetić, Croatia Airlines President and CEO. "We are very pleased that Croatia Airlines, one of the largest and most successful airlines in the region, has further confirmed its confidence in the A320 Family by expanding its order backlog with Airbus," said Airbus Chief Operating Officer Customers, John Leahy. "This shows the airline’s satisfaction and clearly demonstrates the high demand for the A320's advanced technology and efficiency in the years to come." Read more

British Airwayshappy with Dubrovnik results

During the winter season 2008/09 British Airways will be flying to Dubrovnik 4 times a week – Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, which is an increase compared to the previous winter season when flights were operated 3 times a week. This is because the airline has been recording good results to Dubrovnik. During the summer season, when flights were operated on a daily basis from London-Gatwick, British Airways transported 24.000 passengers to Dubrovnik while the load factor amounted to 90%, an extremely good result for an inter-European holiday destination. British Airways’ representative for Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina stated that the airline is extremely happy with the amount of passengers on the line mentioned above which is becoming more popular every season. The airline plans to introduce more frequencies from the 2009 summer season. British Airways does not operate to the country’s capital Zagreb or any other city in Croatia.

Flights from Dubrovnik this winter season will depart on Tuesday and Sunday at 16.40 while on Thursday and Friday they will depart at 14.40. Flights are operated using a Boeing B737-400 and last 2 hours and 45 minutes.

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New technology onboard Croatia Airlines

Croatia Airlines is introducing a new technology system which will help reduce the workload for the cockpit crew and improve passenger safety. The Lido eFlightBag is an IT solution designed to allow an almost paperless cockpit by replacing manuals with electronic versions. Lufthansa Systems, which created the system, currently provides IT solutions for the airline for planning and management. Captain Milenko Radić, senior vice president of flight operations at Croatia Airlines, said the new technology can keep pace with the company's dynamic growth. "We can now increase the efficiency, not just in areas like fuel consumption and corporate administration, but in our cockpit processes as well," he said. According to Lufthansa Systems, the Lido eFlightBag helps lower costs because the efficiency of fuel consumption and administration can be increased. Read more

Another mechanical problem on Croatia Airlines flight

Due to technical problems another emergency has occurred on a Croatia Airlines flight, this time to Munich from Zagreb’s Pleso Airport. The morning flight, which departed at 6.30AM, was force to return to the Croatian capital 30 minutes after takeoff. The aircraft in question is the regional ATR42 which will soon be fazed out of the fleet. At first, the passengers noticed water leaking from the overhead baggage compartments after which reading lights turned off. The pilot informed the passengers that the defrosting valve was not working properly and the aircraft landed safely in Zagreb.

Although not a major incident, it is the third of its kind within the last month. First there was an emergency on a charter flight from Barcelona followed by an emergency on the brand new Dash 400 after flames were seen coming from the engine. On top of this bad publicity Croatia Airlines recently received a category 2 rating from the FAA banning it from flying to the United States more importantly effecting its code share agreement with United Airlines. The Croatia Airlines ATR42’s are 15.6 years old. Read more

Croatia Airlines winter 2008/09 Mass reduction of service from Split

On October 25, 2008 Croatia Airlines, the national airline of Croatia will begin with its winter schedule. As usual for this time of the year Croatia Airlines will be decreasing its regular frequencies however there are a few surprises.

Regionally Croatia Airlines is increasing its 3 weekly flights to Priština to 4 times a week. Flights OU310 will be operated 3 times a week by an Airbus A319 and once by an Airbus A320. Flights from Zagreb to Sarajevo will decrease from 18 weekly flights to 14 with the ATR42 completely removed from the line. Flights to Skopje will decrease only by one to daily flights using the Airbus A319. Other regional destinations will remain with the same number of flights although the ATR42 will be removed from the Podgorica line and replaced with the Dash 400.

Croatia Airlines is cancelling its services from Zagreb to Tel Aviv while it will also see large reductions of services from Split, Pula and Dubrovnik. From Dubrovnik, Croatia Airlines is ending flights to Amsterdam, Dusseldorf (only a seasonal destination), London-Gatwick, Paris, Tel Aviv and Zurich while it will keep flights Dubrovnik-Rome and Dubrovnik-Frankfurt. Similarly, Split will see a major reduction of destinations with flights to Amsterdam, Brussels, Dusseldorf, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Lyon, Munich, Paris, Vienna and Zurich all edning while flights to Frankfurt will be operated on a daily basis and Rome will be operated 5 times per week. The big withdrawal of services from Croatian airports (outside of Zagreb) continue with flight to Amsterdam and London-Gatwick also cut from the schedule from Pula leaving the city only with flights to Zagreb, Zadar and Zurich operated by Croatian Airlines.

Any related updates will be posted. Any question our readers might have regarding the new schedule can be posted by using the “comments” option or contacting us using our e-mail address. Soon B&H Airlines’ 2008/09 winter schedule will be published on the blog.

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New Croatia Airlines hangerat Zagreb Airport

Croatia Airlines continues to maintain its position as the leading airline out of all in the EX-YU republics. Not only has it seen an increase in passengers, destination serviced and fleet, its management also yesterday opened the airline’s very own hanger at Zagreb Airport (pictured above) which will give both the airline and the airport bigger opportunity to maintain aircraft. The hanger will be operated by Croatia Airlines and its partner Lufthansa (Lufthansa Technik). It has been agreed that Lufthansa will also service some of its Airbus A319 and A320 fleet at Zagreb’s Pleso. The close cooperation between Croatia Airlines and Lufthansa Technik started as early as 1992. Today Lufthansa Technik provides the airline with Total Engine Support TES and Total Component Support TCS, as well as services covering Airframe Related Components (ARC) and landing gears. Lufthansa Technik had taken over the component support for the Bombardier Q400 fleet of the Croatian airline only recently. Croatia Airlines on the other hand has already performed C-checks for Lufthansa Technik for a while. During a C-check the entire aircraft is subjected to comprehensive checks, among them very detailed functional and structural tests. Airbus A320 family aircraft are due for C-checks after about 18 months. Each aircraft requires somewhere between 1,500 and 2,800 man hours. In Europe Lufthansa Technik has currently performed C-checks mainly at its German locations as well as at Lufthansa Technik Malta. The new cooperation with Croatia Airlines is another step to expand the global maintenance network of the company.

However the new hanger has strong competition from its neighbours – from Jat Tehnika in Belgrade servicing around 10 airlines and Adria’s CRJ hangers in Ljubljana which service CRJ aircraft for many airlines from the EU.

NOTE: Tomorrow we will publish the winter 2008/09 Croatia Airlines timetable and all the changes taking place.

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Who gets the most air traffic?

Eurocontrol is the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation. Created in 1963 by six founding members, this civil and military intergovernmental organisation now counts 38 Member States from across Europe. It is based in Belgium with specialised offices in six other European countries. Not only does it keep Europe’s skies safe, it also compiles information on air traffic. These are the results for countries of the EX-YU:

Bosnia and Herzegovina: In August the total number of departures from Bosnian airports amounted to 698 arrivals and 700 departures while 23.471 aircraft flew over Bosnian airspace. These results are an improvement compared to last year when there were 644 departures, 649 arrivals and 22.804 overflies. Overall Bosnia and Herzegovina has seen an increase in air traffic every month with the number of overflies increasing the most, meaning more aircraft are flying over the country’s airspace.

Croatia: Not only is August one of the busiest months for air traffic in Croatia but the country is also seeing improvements across all months when compared to last year. In August alone there were 4.527 commercial departures, 4.396 arrivals and a total of 38.324 overflies. However the August 2008 results did not see a large improvement in traffic figures as some previous months. In August 2007 there were only 51 departures less nevertheless this number was made up by the large increase in arrivals. A total of 197 more arrivals took place in August 2008 then in 2007.

Macedonia: Despite MAT being banned from Greece, causing a large decrease in charter operations, Macedonia is recording a big improvement compared to last year over all months. August was particularly successful this year when there were 645 departures compared to 527 in August 07, 643 arrivals compared to 527 the same time last year and in August there were a total of 16.107 overflies compared to 14.385 last year.

Serbia and Montenegro: Serbia controls Montenegro’s airspace until further notice and as a result all data is combined with no separated information available. Similarly Belgium takes care of Luxembourg’s airspace. Nevertheless Serbia and Montenegro are recording the largest increase in operations. In August 2008 there were 3.479 departures compared to last year’s 2.787, 3.492 arrivals compared to 2.800 and 50.285 overflies compared to 42.687 in August 2007. The increase in overflies can be thanked to Serbia’s ideal geographical location. The largest increase in passenger operations was seen in May 2008 which can be largely thanked to the Eurovision Song Contest that was held in Belgrade seeing an increase in air traffic.

Slovenia: Slovenia is also seeing an increase in operations particularly in January and February. In August 2008 Slovenia saw 2.054 departures, 2.057 arrivals and 31.134 overflies. This compared to August 2007 when there were 1.930 departures and 1.970 arrivals. However Slovenia has seen a slight decrease this year in overflies when compared to 2007. In August 2007 Slovenia has a total of 31.253 overflies.

When all data is calculated the leading countries in August 2008 are:
1. Serbia and Montenegro
2. Croatia
3. Slovenia
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina
5. Macedonia Read more

Red light for Croatia Airlines from FAA

The American federal aviation administration, the FAA, yesterday, on their Internet webpage published that Croatia does not meet the standards of the international civil aviation organisation, ICAO. The checks were carried out in January 2008 after Croatia Airlines signed an agreement with United Airlines. The deal allowed for passengers to fly with Croatia Airlines to a European destination and then continue their journey to America using United. Croatia has therefore been rated in the “category 2” class. This means that Croatia either does not have the needed laws and regulations for trans-Atlantic flights or employees in the country’s aviation industry are not trained in the areas of technical knowledge, aircraft inspection and so on.

Category 2 means that airlines from Croatia cannot fly towards the Unites States. In 2006 Serbia was placed on category 2 after having a category 1 status for years although many believed there were political reasons behind the decision due to the fact that the FAA gave the country’s national airline a mark of 98 out of a 100 which is more than enough for category 1 raising questions if Croatia deserved the category 2 status and joins nations such as Nauru, the Philippines, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Both Bulgaria and Romania were part of category 2 until January 1, 2007 when the 2 countries entered FAA CAT1 upon their entry into the European Union.

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Croatia Airlines orders new aircraft

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that Croatia Airlines has signed a contract to acquire two Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners. The airline has also taken options for an additional four aircraft. The transaction represents the conversion of two options taken for Q400 aircraft which was announced on June 4, 2007 when Croatia Airlines also placed a firm order for four Q400 aircraft. Two of those aircraft have already been delivered.

Based on the list price for the Q400 NextGen aircraft, the value of the order announced today is approximately $57 million US. The value could increase to $180 million US if all four options are exercised. "The Q400 aircraft is at the very top of the global airline industry in terms of flight specifications, technological achievements and cost-effectiveness, said Ivan Misetic, President and Chief Executive Officer, Croatia Airlines. "We are convinced that by acquiring these aircraft, Croatia Airlines will reaffirm its position as a regional leader in Southeast Europe, besides contributing to connecting Croatia with the world and expanding the Croatian economy". "We are delighted that Croatia Airlines has placed an order for Q400 NextGen airliners so soon after the delivery of its first two Q400 aircraft earlier this year," said Gary R. Scott, president of Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. "It's a solid vote of confidence in these aircraft and we look forward to helping Croatia Airlines build a stronger presence in Europe". Read more

Another emergency on Croatia Airlines

A week after its emergency in Barcelona, a Croatia Airlines aircraft has had another serious emergency. Yesterday the new Dash 8 Q400 was forced to return to Zagreb’s Pleso Airport a few minutes following its departure after flames were seen from the aircrafts engine however the management of Croatia Airlines is denying the allegations from Croatian media. The incident sparks a major debate within Croatia concerning the purchase of the Dash 8’s and their reliability since the aircraft type has been plagued by incidents and mechanical failures across Europe for years.

In Croatia Airlines, the management states that there was no fire and that there was no emergency landing. The management claims that the pilot noticed on his instruments that the temperature of the fuel was higher than normal and decided to return the aircraft back to Zagreb a few minutes after departure. The aircraft which was transporting passengers from Zagreb to Zadar had 33 passengers onboard and the management is persistent in highlighting that none of the passengers were in danger. Croatia Airlines currently has 2 Dash Bombardiers which arrived this year and a further 2 will arrive next year in order to replace the aging ATR42’s. One of Croatia’s Dash 8’s has already experienced mechanical problems this year. Croatian media have criticised the national carrier for purchasing the “unreliable” aircraft referencing the fact that Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) withdrew the aircraft model from its fleet after the much publicised incident in Copenhagen in 2007.

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New arrival for Dubrovnik in 2009

Jet2.com, a popular British low-cost airline, has today announced the launch of four new routes starting May 20, 2009 with one of them including the Croatian Adriatic town of Dubrovnik, to be operated from their base in Leeds Bradford.Speaking about the announcement, Philip Meeson, boss of Jet2.com, commented: "At Jet2.com we are committed to ensuring that holidaymakers in the UK have unprecedented choice when it comes to their holiday destination. These new route launches really underline this commitment to our customers and we are confident that they will be an extremely successful addition to our schedule. Dubrovnik is an especially exciting addition for us as it is the first time that we have flown into Croatia. With its Italian influences and miles of clean, sandy beaches, it is a destination which is fast becoming one of Europe’s leading holiday hot spots".

With this addition a total of 16 scheduled airlines now operate to Dubrovnik Airport. Croatia Airlines and Dubrovnik Airlines are the only airlines from the EX-YU region to operate flights to the holiday town. Jet2.com does not operate any flights to any former Yugoslav republic.

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Emergency on flight OU8221

In the week which will be remembered by countless emergencies in commercial aviation, Croatia Airlines has joined the long list to experience an incident. High scholl graduates who were expected to return home to Zagreb from Barcelona, half an hour after midnight on Thursday their flight OU8221 experienced wheel corrosion after a bird flew into the engine as the aircraft was about to depart. A few birds flew into the engine and the aircraft was forced to come to a halt at full speed. Upon checks the engine was given the green light however one of the wheels was damaged due to the sudden termination of departure.

As the checks on the Airbus A319 took place until 6.30AM the pilots’ and cabin crews working hours ran out. In accordance to Croatian law, which regulates air traffic, the cabin crew, together with the students waited until midnight until they could depart. All of the 106 students spent the extra night in the hotel.

This week there were many incidents which involved Air France (overshot runway), RyanAir (loss of cabin air pressure), Sudan Airways (hijacking) and Itek Air (crash).

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Croatian aviation booms

In the first half of the year Croatian airliners have transported over 1 million passenger while both international and domestic airlines have transported over 2 million passengers in Croatia, a record for the country as the tourism industry continues to grow and the standard of living continues to increase. According to data from the Croatian agency of statistics, local Croatian airliners have transported nearly 1.03 million passengers (both domestic and international traffic included), which is a 7.1% increase compared to last year’s result. When including both local and international airlines the number of transported passengers rises to 2.08 million, a 9% increase compared to the same time last year. This only includes passengers that have either boarded or disembarked from scheduled international and domestic destinations by all airlines from or to Croatia.

In the Croatian domestic air market 456.000 passengers were transported, a large increase of 18.8% compared to last year. In the first half of the year 32.000 arrivals and departures were operated by foreign airlines, a 3.6% increase. The number of transported cargo has also significantly increased – by 10%. The large increase in passenger numbers can be largely thanked to the national airline which has introduced new lines, particularly in the region as well as the fact that more people are travelling due to an increase in living standards.

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Dubrovnik expands and renovates

Dubrovnik Airport, located in Southern Croatia on the Adriatic Coast is currently going through a period of reconstruction and change. Not only has is a new terminal, the largest in Croatia (until the construction of Zagreb’s new terminal begins) , with an area of 36.500m² and 4 jet ways under construction, the original terminal also getting a face lift. Recently a new VIP lounge was opened as well as a tourist attraction – the Đurović Cave located underneath the airport.

The grand opening ceremony of the Đurović Cave was held on Thursday August 7, 2008. Research and works on the decoration of the cave lasted for 7 years and a total of 2.2 million Kuna (Croatian currency - HRK) was invested. This unique tourist about 156 metres long and the lowest level of the cave is 25 metres underneath the very runway. The cave was visited and used by local inhabitants, who used it to collect water and find shelter in war battles until 1962, when the entrance was closed due to construction of the airport. Meanwhile as a part of the “Reconstruction for 2 million passengers” project, Dubrovnik Airport renovated its VIP lounge, offered to state officials, delegations and all other passengers requesting VIP treatment. Dubrovnik Airport established cooperation with prominent hotel group “Adriatic luxury hotels”, which designed, furnished and equipped the lounge. The VIP lounge is located in Terminal A and has 2 exits/entrances to the apron and the front of the terminal building.

Dubrovnik is serviced by 16 scheduled airlines and a large amount of charter airlines operating on a seasonal basis. From the EX-YU airlines only the local Croatia Airlines and Dubrovnik Airlines operate flights to Dubrovnik. In 2007 Dubrovnik Airport served 1.143.168 passengers.

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Airport reconstruction becoming a hobby in EX-YU as Zagreb Airport announces new plans

Zagreb Airport is expecting the commencement of the construction of a new multi-million Euro terminal building. However as is a tradition in any Ex-Yugoslav republic the project is running late and it is already looking unlikely that a completely new terminal will rise from the ground at Pleso by 2011 – the current deadline. In the meantime the airport management will entertain itself with the reconstruction of the current terminal which is in bad shape resembling more a train station then an airport terminal buidling (as presented by the photo of the airport above). Minor reconstruction projects such as lighting and the reconstruction of the domestic transfer area have already been complete however the entire project will be finalised by summer of 2009. The airport management wishes to improve the foundations of the airport in order for it to remain stable in case of any earthquakes. Lighting around the airport as well as the airport park will soon have an improved look while the airport plans to open up 300 new parking spaces for cars. Ultimately when the new terminal at Pleso is built, Terminal one will become a low cost and domestic traffic terminal.

Zagreb Airport joins a list of airports in the EX-YU region undergoing reconstruction. Ljubljana Airport, as reported yesterday, is undergoing heavy maintenance with a planed Terminal 2 and a runway expansion. Belgrade Airport Terminal one is also undergoing surgery in order to fit in with the reconstructed T2 while Podgorica Airport in Montenegro also plans to reconstruct its Terminal one building, reminding readers that Podgorica has had a brand new terminal since 2007. Tivat also had its airport renovated recently.

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Aircraft collision at Split

At Split International Airport in Croatia a Russian Tupolev airplane has collided with the tail of an Italian Airbus while entering the airports platform yesterday (as pictured above).The passengers and crew of both planes were unharmed, the Croatian Ministry of Transportation said. The Russian Tu-204 hit the horizontal stabilizer of the Italian jet, and broke it. The Russian plane had 180 passengers and 10 crew members on board, while the Airbus was occupied by 93 passengers and six crew members. The Italian plane will remain in Split until it has been repaired, while the Russian plane will fly to Moscow, pending the approval of Russian and Croatian aviation authorities. Investigation is underway, and the Italian authorities will be duly informed, reports said.

Split is located on the Adriatic Sea in the South of Croatia. The number of passengers passing through Split has increased this year compared to last although this year’s growth was lower then expected. The airport experiences its peek annual traffic in June, July and particularly August due to high tourist numbers and organised charters. The two airlines involved in the collision were a Russian charter airline and the Catania based Wind Jet from Italy.

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Croatia Airline reports major loss in profit

The Croatia Airlines Group has, in the first quarter of this year, reported a profit of 823 thousand Kuna (just over 114 thousand Euros) while in the same period last year it had a profit of 30.2 million Kuna (4.1 million Euros). The 97% decrease in profit has, according to Croatia Airlines management, been caused by an increase in costs due to increased capacity. The management says that one must remember the purchase of new Bombardier aircraft and the increase in the price of fuel. The fuel increase has cost the airline 59.3 million Kuna. Croatia Airlines has increased the number of sold tickets within the country by 27% (at 259.03 million Kuna) while international sales have fallen by 1.3% to 479.9 million. The total expenditures of the Croatia Airlines Group this year stands at 850.25 million Kuna which is an increase of 19.3% compared to last year. Furthermore operational costs have increased by 20.67%. The most significant expenditure, as expected, is fuel which increased by 57%.

The results are nothing better for Slovenia’s national airline which will experience a financially difficult year again despite a strong start to the year and an increase in the number of passengers. You will be able to read about this in more detail tomorrow.
On Saturday there will also be news posted regarding the Jat Airways privatisation with two new surprising potential bidders. Stay tuned!

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Croatia Airlines reaches million and outdoes the rest

The national Croatian airline on the 25th of July, 2008 transported its one millionth passenger in the year, the fastest this number has ever been reached by the airline, a total 17 days earlier compared to last year. Furthermore Croatian is the first EX-YU airline to reach the one million passenger mark this year. Following it, Serbia’s Jat Airways which has just surpassed Slovenia’s Adria Airways while Montenegro Airlines becomes the strongest amongst the smaller carriers (MAT Macedonian Airlines and B&H Airlines). Passenger wise it is expected Croatia Airlines will once again win the year and will retain its title of largest EX-YU carrier in passenger terms although in fleet terms it is currently being beaten by Jat, only just. However no matter who has the most passengers or the bigest fleet the airline with the largest profit will be celebrating the most once the year ends.

This year’s one millionth passenger for Croatia Airline was flying between Zagreb and Rome via Split. She received two return tickets to a destination of her choice.

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Belgrade Airport beats all

During July this year all of the weekly records of traffic operations in the last 18 years at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport have been broken, since the disintegration of Yugoslvia. For example, the highest weekly passenger volume is now 79.391 and the highest number of aircraft movements (total number of takeoffs and landings) is 1.213. This makes Belgrade’s airport unbeatable this year with no chance that other EX-YU airports can catch up by the end of 2008 (if no extrodinary events occur). According to present trends the airport management expects with certainty that the new weekly passenger record will be broken this week already.

Regardless of the present world crisis in air transportion, caused by high fuel rates, foreign airlines operating from Belgrade’s airport have foreseen for the coming winter season 2008/2009 (beginning this October and ending March 2009) an increase in the number of flights by 10% compared to the same period last year, while the national carrier of Serbia, Jat Airways, is still expected to announce its winter flight schedule. The only airport in the region currently ahead of Belgrade is Sofia’s airport.

The current standing of three most visited airports in EX-YU are:
1. Belgrade Nikola Tesla
2. Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport
3. Zagreb Airport Pleso

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