Summer debut for Morava Airport

Kraljevo Airport

The Serbian Government, local authorities and USAID are committing millions of Euros in the development of the military airport Ladejvci, near the town of Kraljevo, located in Central Serbia. The airport, built in 1965 and mostly destroyed during the 1999 NATO bombing, is expected to be open for commercial flights by the summer of 2011 under the name Morava Airport. The Serbian Army, the owner of Ladjevci, has given its approval for the airport to be used jointly for both commercial and military flights. The army’s approval was the last piece of the puzzle needed in order for development to begin.

Unprecedented interest has been shown for the development of Kraljevo Airport. Initially, the cities of Kraljevo, Čačak and Kragujevac showed interest for the airport’s development but since then another eight have shown their support - Novi Pazar, Raška, Ivanjica, Lučani, Gornji Milanovac, Knić, Vrnjačka Banja and Trstenik. All of these cities and town will be co-financing the airport’s development which will cost 22.5 million Euros. On June 17, the Serbian Government approved the project and drafted a planned timeline of the airport’s development.

The construction of a new control tower, replacing the one bombed, will begin in the next two months. Soon after, the runway will be extended by 250 metres, bringing the runway’s total length to 2.500 metres. The airport is expected to open in August 2011. It is believed that the Government has moved swiftly to approve the airport’s development due to requests made by the Fiat automaker which owns the Zastava car manufacturer in nearby Kragujevac.

The airport in Kraljevo will be named Morava after the nearby river, while the military part of the airport will continue to be called Ladjevci.