Air Serbia signs agreement with Menzies Aviation to ensure its further growth
03 October 2023
Air Serbia, the national flag carrier of the Republic of Serbia, in order to support its ambitious growth plans, has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Menzies Aviation, the leading service partner to the world’s airports and airlines, to enter into a joint venture (JV).
As part of the planned cooperation, Menzies will deliver passenger and ramp services at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG) beginning in February 2024. The agreement, Menzies biggest deal in Eastern Europe to date, will see local teams manage more than 22,000 turns in the first year at the largest and busiest airport in Serbia.
The move is the latest step by Air Serbia to expand its network. With approximately 50% market share in BEG, the airline successfully grew its network to 15 new destinations in 2022, with a further 23 routes in 2023 including the United States, China, Greece, Italy, Germany, Poland and many others. It is also set to launch a new service between Belgrade and Porto in November, adding Portugal’s second-largest city to its destination network.
“We are extremely pleased about the upcoming cooperation with such a renowned ground handling service provider as Menzies Aviation. During this year's summer season, Air Serbia recorded unprecedented growth, but at the same time faced certain challenges in the field of ground handling. Again, I want to apologise to all passengers affected by the situation at our hub this summer. Even during the season, we reacted quickly to that situation by hiring additional personnel in record time. Now we are taking the next step because in 2024 we want to provide the best possible service for our passengers and a reliable partner for the company's further growth,” said Jiri Marek, CEO of Air Serbia.
“We are extremely excited by the opportunity to work with Air Serbia, helping the airline achieve further domestic and international growth. Strategically, as the number one service provider in the world, and the number one provider in the region, this venture represents a major step for Menzies, supporting our ambitions to expand our presence in the Balkans and support emerging aviation markets. We are looking forward to delivering market-leading, high-quality aviation services in the Balkans with the fast-growing Air Serbia, and increasing our market share at Belgrade Airport,” said Philipp Joeinig, CEO of Menzies Aviation.
You can find more information about the activities of the Serbian national airline on the Air Serbia Media Centre webpage.
About Air Serbia
Air Serbia is the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, the successor of the first national airline, Aeroput, established in Belgrade in 1927. It has been operating under the current name since October 2013. Air Serbia operates scheduled, seasonal and charter flights to over 80 destinations in Europe, the Mediterranean, North America, Asia and Africa, in passenger and cargo traffic. In cooperation with its airline partners, Air Serbia also offers flights to international destinations in Asia, Australia, North America and Africa. In addition to Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Air Serbia also flies from Niš Constantine the Great Airport and from International Airport Morava near Kraljevo. Air Serbia is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
About Menzies Aviation
Menzies Aviation is the leading service partner to the world’s airports and airlines, with operations on six continents, at more than 255 airports in 60-plus countries, serving more than 4 million flights a year and handling over 2 million tonnes of cargo. Supported by a team of over 40,000 highly trained people, the company provides complex and time-critical ground services, including passenger, lounge and ramp services; air cargo services, including handling, warehousing and wholesale freight forwarding; and fuel services, including fuel farm management and into-plane fueling. Menzies Aviation is recognized across the industry for delivering the safest, most secure and sustainable services tailored to customers’ needs and is essential to keeping passengers, aircraft and cargo moving, round the clock, every minute of every day. Menzies Aviation is headquartered in London, and since its founding in 1833, has become the largest aviation services group in the world by number of countries and aircraft turns.