Serbia may get approval for direct flights to the USA in 2013

Serbia could obtain the certification for establishing direct flights to the United States this year, it was said at a meeting between a delegation of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Minister Milutin Mrkonjic that was held in Belgrade on Monday.

Mrkonjic said that Serbia deserves to be granted a Category One rating from the FAA once again, which would mean a lot for Serbia's EU integration, Tanjug news agency reports.

Milutin Popovic, the adviser on aviation to the Serbian transportation minister, told Tanjug that in the next five days, the FAA delegation will be in Belgrade, where they will carry out a technical inspection so as to determine whether Serbia is ready to advance from the FAA Category Two to Category One.

If there are no problems at this stage, the main audit will take place, so that we can obtain Category One for establishing flights to the US and other overseas countries by the year's end, Popovic said.

Acting Director of the Civil Aviation Directorate Milan Zivanovic told Tanjug that the directorate has achieved a lot since it was denied Category One in 2004.

- We harmonized a series of our rulebooks with the international rulebooks and standards so we have achieved the level at which we could follow Category One - he noted.

- The Category One certification would mean that one of domestic air carriers would have an opportunity to open a direct line with the US, and a possibility that other airlines would also use services of Belgrade Airport for direct flights to the US - Zivanovic added.

- The main audit will be carried out in April, so it is possible that we will obtain the certification this year - Zivanovic added.

Roberto Gonzales, an FAA representative and the coordinator for the Serbian government, told Tanjug that the meeting at the directorate and government was constructive, and that advancement of the Serbian aviation was discussed.

US Deputy Ambassador in Belgrade Lee Litzenberger told Tanjug that the mere fact that FAA representatives are here illustrates that Serbia is ready for the technical check. That also shows that the United States is ready to establish closer and stronger ties between the American and Serbian peoples, and back Serbia on its path to the EU.

The Serbian companies lost the certification for flying to the US in 2004 due to shortcomings in the regulations, organization of the aviation authorities and the then discrepancy between the Serbian civil aviation standards and procedures and the American ones.