Ryanair has expressed strong criticism of the concession of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, calling it a “big mistake” and labeling the concessionaire, VINCI, as “French profiteers”. During a press conference in Sarajevo, Jason McGuinness, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, stated, “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.” He went on to add, “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.”
This statement comes just weeks after the low-cost airline reiterated that it would not be launching flights to Belgrade, describing the airport as too expensive. Ryanair said, “Belgrade Airport is too expensive and is not an option for us at the moment. We continue to monitor the Serbian market. It is of interest to us, and if we can see a way to turn potential into profit, we will make the decision to expand there.” Currently, Ryanair operates flights to the Serbian market via its Niš base. VINCI took over the 25-year concession of Belgrade Airport in 2018, with the contract extended by a year and a half due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite this, Ryanair remains one of VINCI’s largest airline partners at its airports. Previously, the French operator of Belgrade Airport commented, “The low-cost carrier market is an important part of Belgrade Airport’s development. There is already a significant number of budget airline flights operating from Belgrade Airport. However, the decision to launch flights to Belgrade is up to Ryanair.” Ryanair operates a base in Zagreb, which is also under concession, as well as seasonal bases in Dubrovnik and Zadar. Among capital cities, the airline serves Podgorica and Sarajevo. Regionally, Ryanair has bases in Budapest, managed by VINCI, as well as Bucharest and Sofia.
