Turkey has committed itself to financing the completion of Morava Airport in Kraljevo in central Serbia, five years after its terminal building was completed and left unused. It comes following a meeting between the Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and her Turkish counterpart. The Turkish government will allocate some ten million euros towards the overhaul of Morava Airport's runway. Its 22-million euro terminal was completed in 2012, however, its 2.200 metre-long and thirty metre-wide runway can only handle smaller turboprop aircraft. The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Serbia this week along with cabinet ministers and a delegation of over 100 business people, noted that the first destination out of Kraljevo's airport should be Istanbul. Part of the Raška District, in which Kraljevo is located, has close historical ties with Turkey and a portion of the local population is expected to use this airport, instead of Pristina, for future flights to Istanbul.
The Turkish government, which has already invested ten million euros into the airport, was to donate a further ten million for the extension and widening of the runway four years ago. However, in October 2013, as relations between Serbia and Turkey deteriorated, the then Serbian Minister for Construction and Urbanism refused the donation, noting that the country would fund the rest of the development on its own, which it has failed to do. Last year, Belgrade Airport donated 300.000 euros towards the runway's overhaul, however, these funds were insufficient. Construction of a new control tower and access roads at Morava Airport began in 2011 and were completed a year later. That same year, the first promotional flight was operated from Belgrade with Jat Airways’ ATR 72 aircraft. In 2012 a new passenger terminal was opened featuring a duty free shop, exchange office, commercial office space, a detention centre, clinic, car park and a cargo depot. Jat Airways soon after announced it would launch a two-weekly service from Kraljevo to Istanbul, however, these never materialised.
Wizz Air recently said it was following developments at Morava Airport and would consider adding it to its network once all construction work is completed. The airport would significantly boost the local economy since it lies between several industrial cities and is in close proximity to the Italian-run Fiat-Zastava car manufacturer. Furthermore, the airport is expected to stimulate the local tourism industry and benefit health tourism in particular which is already developed in the area. Last April, the Serbian government announced it was willing to enter into a public-private partnership agreement with a German company which would operate services from Kraljevo to both Frankfurt and Istanbul. The name of the company was not specified.
Finally! This airport has so much potential. Very good location for an area that does not have an airport close by.
Kraljevo as an airport is the best suited to be the main LCC airport in Serbia.
I hope they can open it next year.
What's interesting is that one of the Turkish businessmen who is opening a textile factory in Kraljevo landed there with his private jet.
It will be interesting to see what long-term strategy PRN will introduce so as to compete more efficiently with SKP, INI and KVO.
I really like the terminal building. It looks good for a small regional airport and something that would be perfect for airports like Nis and Tuzla. I hope Kraljevo catches up to these two in a few years.
Agree. Nice terminal. Looks better than many being used in ex-Yu at the moment. Shame this one isn't actually used.
Considering the large diaspora, industry in the area and close proximity of Zlatibor and Kopaonik, this airport does have the ability to attract some flights.
I think it's a colossal waste of money and I'm not sure they will manage to attract anyone.
People were saying that Nis can't attract any flights and has no market but look at it now. Low cost airlines have changed the rules of the game.
It's better if they used this money to build a new terminal in Nis.
Our politicians are famous for their ideas. Maybe they should dismantle this building, put it on a truck, move to Niš airport and than reassemble it.
U blizini aerodroma Morava su Kraljevo, Čačak, Kragujevac, Požega, Užice, Novi Pazar, zatim Vrnjačka, Mataruška, Bogutovačka banja, banja Gornja Trepča, Jošanička banja, najlepša planina u Srbiji-Golija, Kopaonik, Zlatibor, tu je i ceo potencijal Peštera. Zatim-u okruženju je i gomila srednjovekovnih manastira, vinarski i malinarski regioni, tako da je potencijal ovog aerodroma ogroman. Samo srediti banje i eto celogodišnjih letova za celu Evropu, a gde su još i manastirske, pa vinske turističke ture, gastarbajteri iz ovog kraja, a i potrebe privrede.
Postoji sansa za letnje i zimske cartere iz Engleske i Norveske. Takodje letnji carteri za Italiju i Tursku. Barem jedna tura mesecno za banju Trepca pun avion ljudi i kolica. taj profil ide u Igalo. Po teritoriji koju pokriva realno je ocekivati oko 300000 putnika godisnje sa LCC kompanijama sa linijama za Nemacku i Skandinaviju. Cak i Bratislava dolazi u obzir. Ne ocekujte da ce sverceri koji rade sa kamionima ici sad za Istanbul avionom. Regija je ekonomski pis dva univerziteta u Pazaru, dva masinska fakulteta na univerzitetu u Kragujevcu, novi poljoprivredni u krusevcu pored vec postojecih.
Air Serbia could have been flying some routes from there with an ATR72 if it wanted to.
No it couldn't (although I doubt it would even if it could). The airport has to be officially converted from a military into a mixed use airport, which isn't a complicated process and as far as I know it is currently in the process of being converted since the ministry of defense and transport have already signed some documents which now have to be ratified.
Air Serbia doesn't have enough Atrs for its BEG operations so I don't see where they would find the capacity for these regional adventures.
As already mentioned, they need to look at INI and to copy their business model.
Why does Air Serbia ignore the likes on INI and in the future KVO? How come other airlines see demand but they don't?
Sorry Nemjee didn't see your post.
It is Belgrade Airlines plane and simple.
Memmingen Airport in Germany has a runway which is 30 meters wide, which doesn’t limit them to accept A320 and 737... I don’t see why would that be an issue for KVO.
It has equipment this is still military airport.
Skiatos sletanje. Nemojte biti budale i zelati ovakav aerodrom ima mesta za prosirenje piste pored Morave.
How much of a hub can there be when every new year brings 2-3 more destinations cancelled?
“Additionally, the runway is only 30 metres (98 ft) wide due to its former use as a facility for jet fighter aircraft. However, an expansion to the international usual 45 metres (148 ft) has been granted and is under preparation as of 2016.” FMM has a plan to widen the runway from 30 to 45 m ...It is still 30 meter wide, so don’t trust your google maps measure instrument that precisely.
I find it amazing that this building has been sitting for almost 5 years and just collecting dust.
Is there some virus in ex-Yu countries as to why airports write "Airport [insert name]" instead of the other way around? On the building it says Airport Morava instead of Morava Airport. I noticed a lot of airports in the region write it the wrong way around. Even Zagreb had Airport Zagreb on the new terminal before someone brought to their attention that it's wrong and they changed it.
Haha I have noticed that too.
Um, it's not "wrong" you git, it's the way it's written in Slavic languages!
Yes it is wrong. Because if you are writing the name in English then write it correctly. As for you, try to learn some manners.
Is "airport" a Slavic word?
It is obvious Turkey is investing in this airport because Muslim population that lives in the region moved to Turkey and Germany and they would visit more often if they had an airport close by.
If they applied a similar model to INI, this airport could work.
It's good that they will actually complete what is needed but with INI developing quickly, I think it is too late for KVO.
Na kraju se sve isplatiti.
Erdogan managing ex Yugoslavian airports!!
We need national carrier to introduce a few flights from KVO as well as INI. One ATR72 could cover both airports by introducing a circle line to Vienna. How come there is enough passengers from Nis with Wizz Air but there is not enough for Air Serbia with an ATR!?
Let's be real, there is enough demand to fill at least a 100-seater daily to IST.
Napraviti aerodrom od 22m EUR i onda ne imati ni jedan jedini let... sjajno.
Нема ни један једини лет јер држава није уложила довољно пара да се активира за цивилно ваздухопловство.
ghost u opisu bez obzira sto se misli na civilni deo.
Ovo je sajt o civilnoj avijaciji. Terminal izgrađen pre 5 godina i čuči prazan bez da je iko preuzeo odgovornost. Nego šta nego je ghost. To je bezobrazluk.
So when will these upgrades be done and when can we expect for the airport to open?
So what will be done in next period of time? Text is more about what was done, not what will be done.
3 airports for a country like Serbia is too much. I think the government have to concentrate on Nis.
Koliko aerodroma ima Švajcarska, Slovenija Hrvatska, Crna gora???
A kolku turisti ima vo Hrvatska? Kakov standartatot na zivot vo Svejcarska?
Look at KVO's location and you will know why they are going ahead with the project.
Zašto misliš da ne bi mogla i Srbija imati toliko turista? Životni standard Švajcarske nema veze, pogledaj koliko imaju stanovnika i koliko su mali geografski dovoljan im je 1 aerodrom. Za Sloveniju da ne pričamo.
Actually, Serbia's territory that's controlled by Belgrade can be served by three airports: BEG, INI and KVO.
There is absolutely no need for a fourth one.
That said, Sumadija and Pomoravlje are slowly but surely growing economically. There is going to be more demand for air travel in the future.
Most neighbouring countries have at least 3 or more airports, so why not Serbia? The only area that urgently needs an airport is the north. Subtica Airport can be converted to a small, regional one and can serve the north + southern Hungary. The only problem is that you already have big airports nearby: TSR, ARW, OSI.
Subotica is connected to both Belgrade and Budapest by highway. Novi Sad is roughly 40 minutes from BEG so it's questionable if anyone would actually drive north to catch a flight.
With BEG, KVO and INI the area under Belgrade's control would be well-covered. As the highway network keeps on expanding these airports are becoming increasingly accessible.
I think KVO has a lot of potential. Remember how a decade ago Thompson used to run INI charters with their B752. With KVO fully operational they could actually attract a lot of foreigners who would come ski in winter.
Ah, true! Because of ski tourism.
In general, my personal opinion is that Serbia is a country that has much to offer. What kind of traffic do you see in the airport? Leisure or gasterbeiter?
I think at first it will be up to gastos to fill those flights but I am sure the region will do its best to actually attract tourists. There is a lot of potential for ski tourism and that's where the airport can play a key role.
That whole area is quite beautiful and has a lot to offer.
They can also promote religious tourism especially for those coming from Orthodox countries.
Good points! All the best of luck for Serbia :) having 3 airports will be a major improvement. Similar to Hungary, both countries have 1+1 airports which is boring. The rest of the regions need to prosper too.
Hungary almost got its third one when there was a push to activate Balaton but it seems those efforts failed.
If some airline from Turkey and Wizz want to fly to KVO, but Turkey invests 20 million and Wizz zero, then they should pay different airport fees. For example, fee for Turkish: 3 EUR. For Wizz: 15 EUR.
Ipak sve se menja, sem kamenja. Pa i kamenje vreme pretvara u prah. A aerodrom Moravu u regionalni operativni aerodrom. A pesimiste i hejtere? Neka nastave svoje zanimanje.
Definitivno, hvala Turskim investitorima i njihovom ulozenom novcu za dovrsenje nedovrsenog aerodroma usred zemlje Srbije.
I am SO glad KVO will finally come to life! This is great news! Is the airport well connected to the rest of the towns and villages? But being 150km away from INI will be a challenge.
Maybe the only solution is to have connecting flights via BEG, IST, VIE, LJU, ZAG and a later stage to connect via MUC using LH Cityline.
Possible airlines: JU, OS, OU, JP, FZ.
There is no highway between KVO and INI.
Thanks for the info. So, this is "good" news then, meaning people will prefer to fly than to drive.
Yes plus there are a lot of people living west of KVO for whom this airport will become the first choice.
People around INI have SOF and SKP to fly from but these people had nothing but BEG until recently.
So, this means that there is indeed an urge to have an airport. South-east Serbia definitely has better choices.
Another pipe dream, similar to that in Maribor. Serbia is a 1 airport country, and will remain so for a long while. In a minor economic downturn airports such as Morava, Niš are totally unfeasible, there is nothing to draw passengers other than tourists, which those parts of the world don't have.