Jat’s successor in the works

The final chapter for Jat Airways?

Last week, the Serbian Minister for Infrastructure, Milutin Mrkonjić, announced that the creation of a new national carrier, which will take on the role of Jat Airways’ successor, is in its final phases of creation, the “B92” network reports. "We are in the final stages of establishing a new company. The basic idea is to keep Jat in business and the state needs to have its own airline", the Minister said. Mrkonjić also revealed that the Government is trying to find a partner which would purchase shares in the new Jat. "If we are able to come to an agreement with someone who wants to buy a part of Jat, we will do so. If not, we will own the whole airline. One thing is certain - Serbia will have its own airline", Mrkonjić explained. Earlier in the year, analysts predicted that that a new Serbian national carrier, which will inherit everything from Jat (with the exclusion of debt), could take off in the first half of 2011.

Speaking about Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Mrkonjić said that the Government hasn’t discussed any possible privatisation of Serbia’s main hub. "The airport operates with a sizable profit, which flows into the state budget. The airport is a profitable and successful company with profits of some 15 million Euros", the infrastructure Minister noted.