Jat Airways has ordered its operations department to carry out a study to determine the economic viability of operating direct flights between the Serbian capital Belgrade and Chicago in the United States. Serbia currently holds a category two rating, set by the Federal Aviation Authority in the US which forbids airlines from Serbia to operate flights to United States territory. However, both the airline’s management, the Civil Aviation Directorate, the Serbian Consulate in Chicago and the Minister for Infrastructure are certain the country’s rating will be upgraded Aater the Serbian Parliament passed a new aviation bill late on Tuesday. On Monday, a meeting was held at the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate to determine which steps must be taken in order for Jat to resume flights to the US after almost 2 decades. Jat Airways’ CEO, Srdjan Radovanović said, “Last year Jat Airways carried over 60.000 passengers who continued their journey to the United States via a European city”. Radovanović spent 10 days in the United States last month where he met with the Serbian Consul general in Chicago. The consulate has given strong backing for the new service to be introduced.
However, Jat currently does not have the aircraft to operate flights to the United States. As mentioned above, Serbia does not have a category 1 rating either and its staff does not have sufficient training to operate on larger aircraft. Whether these obstacles can be overcome remains to be seen. The airline’s last attempt to set up direct flights to the US in 2006 failed.
JAT Yugoslav Airlines operated its final service from the United States on May 19, 1992 from New York to Belgrade.
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