Ryanair has criticised the concession of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, describing it as a “big mistake” and referring to the concessionaire, VINCI, as “French profiteers”. Speaking at a press conference in Sarajevo yesterday, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jason McGuinness, said, “One of the mistakes Belgrade made is that the airport is, unfortunately, under concession. You have the French profiteers, VINCI, operating there. Belgrade Airport is truly underdeveloped, but the French concessionaires don’t care about that. Ryanair will not fly to Belgrade in the future”, Mr McGuinness said. He added, “Do not let foreign concessionaires manage your airport because they only care about profit. They do not care about developing the airport, the business, or creating new jobs”.
The comments come just weeks after the budget carrier reiterated it would not launch flights to Belgrade, which it labelled as expensive. “Belgrade Airport is too expensive and is not an option for us at the moment. We continue to track the [Serbian] market. It is interesting to us and if we can see that we can turn around potential into a profit, we will take the decision to further expand there”, Ryanair said. The airline currently serves the Serbian market through its Niš flights. VINCI was awarded a 25-year concession of Belgrade Airport in 2018. It has since been extended by a year and a half due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Ryanair is one of VINCI’s largest airline partners across its portfolio of airports. The French operator of Belgrade Airport had previously said, “The low cost carrier market represents an important part of Belgrade Airport’s development. There is already a significant number of flights operated by budget airlines at Belgrade Airport. Even so, the decision to introduce flights to Belgrade is up to Ryanair”. Within the former Yugoslavia, Ryanair has a base in Zagreb, which is under concession, as well as seasonal bases in Dubrovnik and Zadar. Among the capital cities, it also serves Podgorica and Sarajevo. Regionally, the airline boasts bases in Budapest, which is managed by VINCI, as well as Bucharest and Sofia.
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