Air Serbia by Air Mediterranean, Belgrade - Antalya
Hi everyone, and welcome to my trip report, flying on Air Serbia to Antalya! I took this flight in mid-July! It was operated as a charter, and thus, was sold as part of a package deal with a tour operator. It was my first time flying since around this time last year. I knew of all of development at the airport, but was also aware of all of the complaints from previous trip reports.
Flight JU9032 was due to leave on a Saturday at 5:40AM. Interestingly, ASL informed the tour agency, which further informed me, of the flights exact time less than 24 hours before the flight itself, which I was told is very unusual, and maybe hints of some operational shortcomings at ASL (not that we didn’t already witness them during the previous weeks). Check in was supposed to start at 3:10AM, and with me being cautious, I showed up at the airport at 2:30AM, which gave me more than enough time to walk around and see what’s new. Most of the “left” part of T2 has been walled off, meanwhile T1 just keeps getting better. It looks as good as new, and has been expanded with a new “600” check in area.
The outside of the airport is extremely busy with construction work literally everywhere. On the first pic is the view from the furthermost you can get from the outside walkways and shows just about where the new main building will link up to the old one. The second one shows a more complete overview from ATC to the extended C concourse.
After a relatively quick check in, which now opens 2.5 hours before takeoff, I went upstairs as there is literally nothing to do on the bottom floor. Here lies a relatively rare problem – security is closed prior to 4am which means most of the pax for my flight, and a few other very early flights, were left to wait up to 45 mins on the top floor, where there is limited seating options and, surprisingly, not much floor space remaining since the new centralized security is huge. Luckily, security is very fast. Even with a huge queue, I was through in no more than 10 mins. As there was some time ago, passport control is right behind security, and then you go to duty free which hasn’t changed much from last year. If you are eager to eat or drink I recommend rushing to “Kapital” at Tesla Square, as it is the only open bar/café at this time of day, but beware as it gets crowded quickly.
My flight was supposed to board at the new gate C9 so, naturally, I walked all the way to gate A5, then all the way to the end of the C concourse and then finally back to my gate, because I wanted to see everything new. In summary, almost all gates have been renovated with the new open space concept in mind, which really does make the airport feel more roomy. Exceptions are I think C3 and C4 which were walled off, and any part of the building beyond A5, which is fully closed off. My only question, which if someone has the answer to please write below, is were the jet bridge locations changed at some gates? I ask because when I reached A2 I was greeted by a literal “door to nowhere” - pics from A2 below
The new and old parts of the concourse are connected by a zig-zag hallway. The extension is huge. Pictures do not accurately portray how much you have to walk if you are going to the further gates. The only critique I can mention is that the concourse looks a bit empty at the moment, and needs a few more stores and bars, but that will likely be fixed soon. The airport as a whole really looks world class, and since I know people here mentioned complaints: I can confirm the AC does work, mobile AC units are present and the bathrooms look great and clean.
Upon reaching the gate I saw what is now a rare sight for BEG. Hidden behind the jet bridge - a 737 classic, to be exact SX-MAM from Air Mediterranean, a 737-400 which will operate this flight. Boarding was quick, and I got in seat 27E. The cabin was clean and perfectly ok - nothing good nor bad to say about it. Well, actually, legroom could have been better for me since I’m over 190cm, but I guess I can’t complain. It’s still not the worst I experienced. Besides us, there were a couple ASL jets parked, all prepping to fly charters.
Takeoff was a bit late, and we basically flew a straight line all the way to Antalya. The flight was calm and took just under two hours. Since Air Mediterranean is a Greek airline, this wet-lease subsequently also featured a Greek crew which spoke in more fluent English than any I have heard on regular ASL flights. Midflight we got the “ASL charter bag” - frankly an embarrassment which featured a small water, sweet cake (can’t think of a better way to name it), and a sandwich which looked rather unappealing and tasted similarly... I look forward to flying ASL on a regular flight soon to see what they offer on non-charter services. Scenery over Turkey was great though!
Descent into Antalya was a bit bumpy. When we landed we were greeted by a crazy amount of SunExpress and Pegasus planes, and Russian widebodies mostly from Azur, which is definitely an interesting sight at a non-Russian airport given world events. Taxi in took around 20 minutes, and we parked at a gate with a jet bridge to my surprise, at Antalya’s T1. Arrival procedures were fast and painless, which is surprising since departing Antalya a week later was hell on Earth, but more on that when I get to writing that trip report. We were out of the airport in no more than 30ish minutes and on to vacation.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you come back for the return trip report!
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