Belgrade Airport approaching pre-pandemic capacity levels
Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is expected to offer a similar number of seats this summer season to that of the pre-pandemic 2019, during which it handled a record 6.162.159 passengers. Currently, overall seat capacity for the upcoming 2022 summer season is 10% down on 2019 levels, however, these figures do not factor in Air Serbia’s six new routes which are to be introduced from April onwards, as well as additional new destinations the carrier is set to unveil in the coming period. Furthermore, it does not take into account charter operations, which outstripped pre-Covid levels last year. Once these are added, the airport is expected to see similar capacity to 2019 if existing schedules stick.
Last year, Belgrade Airport estimated it would handle five million travellers in 2022, while pre-Covid passenger numbers would be reached in 2023. The airport further outlined its figures would grow to 6.9 million in 2024, 7.3 million in 2025 and 7.7 million travellers by the end of 2026, based on industry trends. During 2021, the airport performed better than expected, handling 3.2 million passengers instead of the initially forecast 2.9 million. In addition to Air Serbia, foreign carriers will also be growing their operations from the airport this year. They include Aegean Airlines, Eurowings and Wizz Air, which will be introducing new routes, while others such as Turkish Airlines, KLM, LOT Polish Airlines and Flydubai will increase frequencies on existing services. Furthermore, Luxair, AnadoluJet, Eurowings, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and KLM are set to operate their first full summer in Belgrade.
Belgrade Airport will offer more capacity this year to several markets compared to the pre-pandemic 2019. These include to Germany, Turkey, France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, the United Arab Emirates and Spain. Airports Council International Europe (ACI) recently said passenger performance at the airport was "significantly outperforming the European average". The organisation noted, “The road to recovery will be long, but it is already very clear that it is faster for Belgrade Airport than others. Looking ahead, we see Belgrade Airport positioning itself as an important hub for Eastern Europe, working closely in an integrated manner with Air Serbia, as well as other airlines with the goal to increase the country’s connectivity”.
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