On 30 August 2024, the French President, Emmanuel Macron and his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vučić, celebrated the official completion of the work to extend and upgrade Belgrade airport.
The project has furthered the airport’s transformation to become a major air hub in south-east Europe, where passenger numbers have risen 42% since 2018. Financed and designed by VINCI Airports (VINCI Concessions), the work began in 2019 and was conducted in partnership with VINCI Construction Grands Projets in order to increase capacity, improve the quality of service and enhance comfort at the airport. The work involved refurbishing and extending the terminal (40,000 m2), adding 12 boarding gates, installing 11 additional aircraft parking bays, as well as reconfiguring access routes to the city, parking facilities, the promenade and the retail offer. A second 3.5-km runway was also built to renovate the main runway. In addition, a new boiler room, photovoltaic production unit, wastewater treatment plant and solid waste separation centre were built.
On the occasion of his State visit, Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic and Aleksandar Vučić, President of the Republic of Serbia, officially marked the completion of key modernisation and expansion works at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, alongside Mr Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and President of VINCI Airports. Both presidents had inaugurated the launch of modernisation project at Belgrade airport in July 2019, confirming VINCI French Group’s dedication to further development of vital infrastructure in Serbia.
To support enhanced traffic increase and ensure larger capacity and comfort, comprehensive expansion and reconstruction works begun in 2019.
Key milestones include 40.000 m2 expansion and redesign of terminal building with additional 12 gates, 11 aircraft parking stands, and reconfigured landside access, car park and terminal forecourt. Redesigned commercial area is to expand to over 9.000 m2 and feature significantly enriched content mixing local flavours with well recognized international brands. Furthermore, a new 3.5 km second runway has been introduced to enable the reconstruction of the main runway and will remain in use to provide resilience and flexibility of operations.
Traffic development is marking a record. At the end of 2023, the airport welcomed close to 8 million passengers compared to 6.2 million in 2019 and added 46 new destinations and 86 new routes, now with 116 routes in total. There are 4 and soon to be 5 long-haul destinations. When it comes to France, apart from Paris, Belgrade is now connected with Lyon and Nice adding to further strengthening mutual relations.
Thanks to commitment to VINCI’s global policy which aims for zero CO2 emissions by 2050, sustainable operations and the construction of new eco – friendly facilities such as a heating plant, solar power plant, wastewater treatment plant, and solid waste sorting plants, Belgrade airport has reduced its CO2 emissions by 23% since 2019, increased its waste recycling rate to 70%, and is effectively treating sanitary wastewater generated at the airport.
Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and President of VINCI Airports, said: "Since the start of the concession, we have been working closely with the Serbian authorities and all our partners to improve Nikola Tesla airport and to make it a hub in Southeast Europe serving 15 million passengers by the end of concession period."
In 2024 Belgrade airport was selected for the third time by passengers as the best airport in Europe by size and region, and has received a record 4 awards granted by the Airport Council International, within its Airport Service Quality program. These awards represent the highest possible recognition for airport operators, as well as an opportunity to highlight the commitment of airports around the world to constantly improve passenger experience.
