Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, Terminal 2

The management of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport and the Government of Serbia plan to invest 118 million Euros into Serbia’s largest airport. The investment would go into the expansion of the terminal building, a second runway and an office block for the airport’s management. The expansion of Terminal 2 would allow the airport to handle over five million passengers per year. The multi million Euro project will be carried out within the next ten years.

Belgrade has two terminals which have the capacity to handle five million passengers per year. Terminal two was completely refurbished between 2004 and 2006. The airport is the largest out of all in the former Yugoslavia. Passenger results in July 2010 have broken previous records. According to a 1990 master plan, Belgrade Airport was intended, by January 2010, to have a third terminal, second runway, office block, hotel complex and a rail connection to the city centre.

Belgrade is not the only capital city airport which will see expansion and refurbishment in the near future. Zagreb, Sarajevo and Ljubljana all intend to expand while Skopje is already seeing construction work. Podgorica is the only EX-YU capital city airport which currently has no plans to expand although Montenegro’s largest airport was completely refurbished several years ago.

I remember when five of the Aero Commander Snow S2D 600's worked for an honest bob.
Six actually arrived here but ZK-CPV was not flow here and went to OZ.
Of the other five: ZK-CPG crashed near Taupo on 10-12-1968 and the surviving four went to Israel.

Aero Commander Snow S2D 600 ZK-CPQ at rest at Rotorua Mount Maunganui/Tauranga in March of 1969.

They were superceded by the Rockwell Thrush Commander S-2R. Seven of these came here, with all ending up in OZ.

Rockwell S-2R Thrush Commander ZK-DQB at Rangiora 01-06-1974.

Ryanair poses risk for Croatia Airlines in Zagreb

Tonči Peović, who became Zagreb Airport’s new director last year, is not on Croatia Airlines’ list of favourite business associates. Relations between the Croatian national carrier and its home base Zagreb deteriorated earlier in the year when Zagreb Airport requested millions in unpaid handling fees from Croatia Airlines. New announcements from the airport’s management have also been less than comforting for the airline.

Peović recently told the media that Zagreb Airport depends too much on Croatia Airlines and that such a state is unacceptable. Croatia Airlines holds a 67% share of all arrivals and departures from the airport, giving it a leading position from the country’s main airport. Peović is pressing for more low cost airlines to commence services to Zagreb. Recently, easyJet announced its plans to begin flights from Zagreb. Peović announced that the airport’s management is negotiations with Ryanair, the world’s largest low cost airline, to commence flights to Zagreb. Ryanair has been present in Croatia for several years, operating flights mainly to the Croatian coast.

It is estimated that Zagreb Airport will report a 3% passenger increase by the end of the year, compared to 2009.

New Belgrade Control Centre building

The multi million Euro state of the art air control centre in Belgrade will be complete in several months and will mark a landmark change in air traffic control in the region. The new building, located next to Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, has 9.500 square metres and construction on the building began in March 2009. The building will be complete on October 10, 2010 – six months ahead of schedule. Upon its completion, all the latest equipment will be put into function and controllers will move in from May 2011. A total of 500 controllers will be able to work at the same time inside the building and 4.000 aircraft will be handled per day. Belgrade control takes care of Serbia’s and Montenegro’s airspace, as well as 55% of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s airspace and the airspace above international waters of the Adriatic Sea.

Eurocontrol, the agency responsible for air traffic control in Europe, has begun implementing its “Single European Sky” initiative which began back in 1999. The key objectives of this initiative are to restructure European airspace as a function of air traffic flows, to create additional capacity and to increase the overall efficiency of the European air traffic management system. The initiative plans to close down many air traffic control centres in Europe and leave only several in key areas of Europe. Belgrade has been selected to control the skies over the entire Balkan Peninsula. This controversial part of the initiative will begin implementation from 2012.

The construction cost of the new air traffic control centre in Belgrade amounts to 19 million Euros while, together with the new equipment, the entire project tops 90 million Euros. According to the project manager, Belgrade will have the most up to date air control centre in the world and the largest control centre in the Balkans.

By my count there have been twenty one Lockheed Lodestars on the NZ Civil Register. Six of these working in the Agricultural role.
To pacify one of our regular blog followers I offer you photos of two of these ag Lodestars.
I make no apologies for the quality of some of these photographs .

ZK-BUV c/n 2152 had served with the USAAF, the Royal Air Force and the Spanish Air Force and entered the US civil market as N9930F in January of 1955, being sold to Fieldair on 28-12-1957. It flew from Sydney into Gisborne on 03-05-1958.

Top photo shows ZK-BUV in the DH hangar at Wellington in late 1962

Pic below is also at Wellington, but taken in about November of 1963

It served both with Airland and Fieldair before being withdrawn from use on 28-11-1972.

Above pic shows it in its Airland script at a time and place long forgotten.

Below in Fieldair markings after being withdrawn from use. Taken at Palmerston North on 08-12-1972

Below we see the Fowler flaps partially extended

 It did a ferry flight from Palmerston North to Gisborne on 08-01-1973 and was mounted as a gate guardian at the Gisborne Airport. It was removed from this plinth on 23-05-1998 and is now in the hands of the Gisborne Aviation Preservation Society.

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ZK-BVE c/n 2020 was built pre the Pacific War for United Air Lines and was impressed into military service via the USAAF for the RAF and going to BOAC in about September of 1941. It later served with the Spanish Air Force until becoming N9933F in March of 1954. It was converted to the ag role at Bankstown and registered to Fieldair on 02-12-1957 to arrived at Auckland on 03-08-1958.

It also served with both Fieldair and Airland before a wheels up landing at Palmerston North on17-12-1969.

Above we see ZK-BVE, in its Airland scheme, getting airborne from New Plymouth on 13-01-1967.

Below, place unknown, but on 02-03-1969.

Below another unrecorded site in September of 1969.

Below at Palmerston North on 29-10-1970.

Its registration was cancelled on 29-01-1970 and was donated to MoTaT. I believe it was ferried north on 08-11-1970.

As Rayner 123 comment, on in the  Christchurch  Pickings 30-07-2010  blog post, the Piper PA-32-260 ZK-EKS is actually a combination of two aircraft.
 

Piper PA-32-260 Cherokee Six ZK-EKS , c/n 32-7300018 , (airframe number eighteen from the 1973 production run) came to NZ courtesy of Rob Leach and Associates arriving at Hamilton on 01-11-1977. On the 9th it was registered to R R Edwards of Hamilton and under the banner of Hamilton Aircraft Rentals was damaged after an over run at Great Barrier Island on 11-08-1983. It was damaged again on 10-03-1985 near Dairy Flat. It then passed through a bunch of owner/operators including J & P McFarland Enterprises Ltd of Auckland (1986); ZK-EKS Partnership (1989); CNZ Skyways Partnership  of Penrose (1990); Alpine Aviation of Ashburton (1995) to Westair Flying Ltd at Hokitika from September of 1997. It was back at Ashburton on 20-01-1998 when fire destroyed the forward section of the aircraft. It was cancelled on 24-11-1998.

The above shot of ZK-EKS is at Christchurch on 05-06-1989 outside the Canterbury Aero Clubs old hangar with the Mount Cook Fokker Friendship ZK-DCB in the background. Below shows it on 02-12-1993 at Ardmore - no great change.

By 23-09-1995 it was in the scheme below, as noted at Christchurch

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Piper PA-32-260-260 Cherokee Six ZK-DDF , c/n 32-480 , was an earlier production aircraft which was registered to the Hawera Aero Club on 27-10-1970 and first flew in NZ on 30-10-70 for delivery to Hawera on 04-11-1970.

Pic below in its Hawera Aero Club script at Wellington on 25-05-1971.

It was sold to Airwork (NZ) Ltd in January of 1976 then to R R Edwards (as in EKS above) on 20-07-1976.

Below as seen at Hamilton on 03-09-1979.

It went to the Waikato Flying School from 16-09-1982 and is seen below at Hamilton on 25-02-1985.

It joined N A Mathieson in March of 1985 and then to David and Margaret Brown of Christian Aviation Ministries Inc in July of 1985. Seen below at Ardmore on 28-08-1985.

By July of 1989 it was with Dennis Thompson International before moving to Patz Syndicate of Tauranga by August of 1990. The Richardson-Lewis Syndicate of Waiheke Island are listed from 01-07-1993. It was damaged on Waiheke Island on 22-12-1994 but survived to carry the name "Waiheke Wings" on its engine cowling until being sold to C E V Ltd of New Plymouth on 19-07-2004.

Below - as seen at Thames on 18-03-2000 "Waiheke Wings".

During maintenance corrosion was discovered in the tail section and to repair this the remains of the fire damaged ZK-EKS were obtained and as Rayner123 mentions - because the tail section of the Cherokees carries the manufacturers plate (just forward of the port horizontal tailplanes leading edge) the finished rebuilt aircraft became the new ZK-EKS on 24-10-2006, with ZK-DDF being cancelled on 20-10-2006.

Below we see ZK-EKS as seen recently (04-06-2010) at Christchurch.

History repeats itself

B&H Airlines’ new Airbus A319, scheduled to arrive today, will not be doing so, although its arrival is expected soon. The Turkish Airlines A319, which is already sporting B&H’s livery, is located at the Turkish Airlines hanger at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport and is expected to make its first revenue flight between Istanbul and the Bosnian capital. The Airbus had previously been leased to Greece’s Olympic Air.

The new arrival will be wearing a Turkish registration. According to recent reports, the Bosnian Civil Aviation Directorate is unhappy with such a decision and is requesting for the aircraft to be registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This could further delay the aircraft’s arrival.

Once the aircraft does touch down in Sarajevo, the B&H Airlines fleet will consist of two regional ATR72s, one Boeing B737-400 and one Airbus A319. The Boeing B737-400 will be relegated to charter services until it is returned to its original owner at the end of the year. Several weeks ago, Turkish Airlines sent a Boeing B737-800 as a replacement for the delayed Airbus jet and it too will be returned immediately upon the Airbus’ arrival.

According to Global Distribution System (GDS), the B&H Airbus is to enter service this fall.