Potential reestablishment of Belgrade-Pristina air route after 18 years

The Government of Serbia has formed a working group for normalizing the air traffic in the Balkans, which is also supposed to find a way to reestablish the Belgrade Pristina commercial air route, which has not existed for 18 years, Blic learns.

The dialogue needs to revolve around the opening of air space for civilian transport above Kosovo and Metohija, which is closed for Belgrade at the moment, and the Government's body is to deal with this issue as well. The working group is also in charge of reinstalling the military and civilian radar in Kopaonik, which was removed in 1999, Blic writes.

Solving these and other problems related to the normalization of the air traffic on the part of Serbia will be in charge of the working group consisting of 15 representatives of all relevant Serbian institutions, headed by Minister of Defense Zoran Djordjevic.

The Blic source from the Government says that these issues are very important and that talks with Pristina will be carried out under supervision of Brussels and adds that it was not only the EU-related obligations that led to Belgrade's being chosen for this air route, but that there are also serious commercial reasons for such a decision, as well as that the flight is also very important for Air Serbia.

– Due to a large Albanian diaspora, the Pristina airport is interesting as an opportunity for financial gain as well, because 1,3 million passengers use it annually. It's a good market for them, but also for SMATSA, which might apply for supervision of air services in K&M in 2018, which have been provided by a Hungarian company since 2013 – the Blic source says.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Air Serbia ad Beograd

Kontrola letenja Srbije i Crne Gore SMATSA d.o.o. Beograd

OGRANAK ETIHAD AIRWAYS Beograd

Air Serbia

working group for normalization of air traffic in Balkans

Ministry of Defense

Belgrade Pristina air route

Zoran Djordjevic

Brussels Agreement

Kopaonik radar

Belgrade Pristina flight