History of Air Tourism in Serbia - From the First Flight to Air Tickets Online

Flight search apps and fast online booking of plane tickets are our present, providing us with accessible desired destinations with minimal obstacles and effort. Air travel is now accessible to everyone, making it hard to believe that residents of our country once only dreamed of flights and distant destinations.

Although it sounds like a distant past, the first flight of a domestic airline was conducted 90 years ago, which is not a long period considering the numerous changes in air travel that have occurred since then. What has the evolution of air tourism brought us and how has its process unfolded?!

The first flight from Belgrade was a flight to the neighborhood

The airline company "Aeroput" was the first Serbian airline and can also be classified among the first civil air carriers in general. Aeroput was the 10th airline company in Europe and the 21st company in the world!

In early 1928, the first planes intended for this company landed at the Belgrade Airfield. These were aircraft from a French company, specifically four Potez-29 biplanes. With five seats for passengers, a range of up to 500 km, and a speed of 210 km/h, this aircraft model had all the characteristics that good passenger planes of that time carried.

The first flight of this airline company, and at the same time the first flight from Belgrade, took place on February 15, 1928, with the destination being Zagreb. After two hours of flight and several circuits around Zagreb, the plane landed. The passengers on this flight were journalists and photographers who documented this significant historical event.

After the "ice was broken," the first regular domestic air traffic route was established on this route. With an impressive 80% occupancy rate during the first year of flights, considering the high ticket prices and the fact that a large number of passengers faced a fear of flying, the response was more than positive.

How Aeroput Became Air Serbia?

Over the following years, the number of routes increased, leading to an increase in the number of passengers and the Aeroput company's fleet. The acquisition of Dragon Rapid aircraft marked a turning point in the development of domestic air traffic. With a total length of domestic routes reaching 2776 kilometers, Aeroput became one of the most developed airline companies in Europe.

Due to the imminent war danger, the entire fleet and staff of this airline company were mobilized into the Air Force. After the war, a new state enterprise for air transport was formed, giving rise to the company Yugoslav Airlines Transport, known as JAT.

JAT performed its first official flight on April 1, 1947, on the route from Belgrade to Ljubljana. The era of JAT was characterized by innovations in air travel, including jet aircraft, larger capacity and range aircraft, and overall planes that were more comfortable and economical than their predecessors. The Boeing 707 enabled the opening of intercontinental flights to America, Australia, and Canada.

The period from 1985 to 1990 is often referred to as the "golden years" of Yugoslav Airlines Transport. However, after the dissolution of the country, the development of JAT was halted. The last attempt to restore the company's glory was marked by changing its name to JAT Airways, but in early 2008, this company definitively became part of history.

A new chapter in air traffic and aviation tourism in Serbia began with the signing of a strategic partnership agreement with Etihad Airways from the United Arab Emirates. A new national airline company - Air Serbia was established. After only four years of operation, in 2017, the company celebrated the fact that 10 million passengers had flown with them.

Belgrade Airport as a Symbol of Serbian Aviation Tourism

Establishing a stable airline company is just one factor in the overall development of aviation tourism. The Open Skies agreement and the abolition of Schengen visas for the Serbian market meant the arrival of new airlines in Serbia. Constantine the Great Airport in Niš provided its passengers with low-cost flights, but passengers still have the most options for travel at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.

Among the airlines operating from the capital city are renowned carriers such as Air France, Qatar Airways, Swiss International Air Lines, Lufthansa, Wizz Air, EasyJet, and others, offering our passengers a wide range of European and long-haul destinations.

Although when it comes to the development of air traffic in Serbia, the focus is primarily on the development of Belgrade airports, work on improving the airport network throughout the country has also contributed to the evolution of aviation tourism in our country.

Development of Aviation Tourism - Hand in Hand with Technological Advancement

Like in all areas of life, technology has had a significant impact on the development of aviation tourism both globally and in our country. The most significant change undoubtedly comes from the transition from paper tickets to electronic ones.

Electronic tickets are travel documents stored in the airline system and, like their paper predecessors, they possess a unique number automatically assigned upon reservation. The simplified system has facilitated the ticket purchasing process and streamlined overall travel organization.

With the added convenience of websites searching for the best deals, numerous cheap flights from Belgrade are booked online with just a few clicks, through modern online booking agency websites like "Poleti.rs". Let's not forget the various applications that allow you to search for flight offers and prices even months in advance, and then find the most affordable accommodation for your desired travel period through related websites.

Artificial intelligence has also enabled traveling with a personal assistant that provides all relevant flight information and traffic updates, as well as details about the airports you'll be landing at upon reaching your desired destination. Applications such as GateGuru app, for example, contain all the necessary information about facilities at over 180 airports, from cafes and restaurants to registration times.

Additional amenities at airports have also provided passengers with an increased level of comfort and further contributed to the development of aviation tourism. Belgrade Airport offers visitors a large number of shops and restaurants, as well as four passenger lounges for specific classes and airport transfers.

The development of air traffic in our country did not happen overnight. Intercontinental flights were preceded by a large number of shorter routes. The stable national airline company that we are proud of today has gone through years of poor performance. Fast planning and reservation of plane tickets were preceded by a longer process, and the comfort that our passengers enjoy today was something that passengers on the first commercial aircraft with only five seats could only dream of.

However, years, and almost an entire century of hard work combined with technological advancements, have enabled the aviation tourism in our country to progress further, with a significant result being the growing number of satisfied passengers.