183.000 PASSENGERS AT NIS AIRPORT FOR FIRST SEVEN MONTHS IN 2017
August 1st
Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia and Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, prof. Dr Zorana Mihajlovic said today that Nis Airport Constantine the Great was an example of how the cooperation between the state, local self-government, state and local companies has yielded good results, because in three years the number of passengers increased from 1,300 in 2014 to more than 183,000. “We worked as a team – the Government of Serbia, the City of Nis, Nikola Tesla Airport, Constantine the Great Airport, the Civil Aviation Directorate, SMATSA – with the common goal of developing Nis Airport according to all standards”, Mihajlovic said after the visit to Nis Airport cargo terminal and at the signing of the contract on the donation of equipment worth 400,000 euros by the Belgrade airport. Mihajlovic said that the investments in the furnishing of the Nis airport will surely continue, as the number of passengers and goods constantly increases. “We will soon choose the project designer for the tower to be built next year, which is one of the conditions for Nis Airport to be completely ready to become a Belgrade Reserve Airport,” she said. “The plan for the next four years is to invest 6.3 million into Nis Airport to make it even more developed and more modern than it is now “, added Mihajlovic.
Nis City Mayor Darko Bulatovic thanked Nikola Tesla Airport for donations and Vice-President Mihajlovic for the support to the citizens of Nis and the whole region of South Serbia. “After so many years of stagnation, Nis and the south of Serbia have a reason to hope and see a prospect and a better future. I would like to express my gratitude to the Belgrade airport on the donation and to the Ministry and the Government for support without which we would not survive all the difficult years that are behind us. Today, Nis airport is a real airport and an example of how to fight for a better standard and living conditions “, Mayor Bulatovic said. He added that the city budget for the next year will no longer have costs for peoples’ salaries at the airport, and that the city would invest only in equipment and reaching the highest standards.
Saša Vlaisavljevic, acting general manager of the Aiport Nikola Tesla, said that both Belgrade and Nis airports are part of the air traffic system of Serbia and that with the support of the Government and the Ministry they record best business results. “Both the City of Nis and Nis Airport can count on us, and in autumn I expect to come again, with fire trucks, “said Vlaisavljevic. Vladica Djurdjanovic, the general manager of Nis Airport Constantine the Great, thanked the Belgrade airport for donations and the Government of Serbia for many years of support, adding that without this assistance, the Nis airport would not have had the results it has today, more than 183,000 passengers and nearly two thousand tons of goods transported for the first seven months of 2017. The donation of Nikola Tesla Airport to Constantine the Great Airport for which the contract was signed by the directors of two companies, Sasa Vlaisavljevic and Vladica Djurdanovic, is worth 400,000 euros and includes, among other things, X-ray machines for inspection of goods and mail, X-ray for inspection of luggage, three metal detector doors, as well as detectors for explosives for checking the hand luggage.