SERBIA: CIVIL AVIATION REFORM NOT TAKING OFF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BELGRADE 000751 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAIR EINV SR SUBJECT: SERBIA: CIVIL AVIATION REFORM NOT TAKING OFF REF: 08 BELGRADE 488; BELGRADE 697 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The Serbian Government's inability to pass key civil aviation legislation continues to stall the progress of Serbia's aviation industry. Without this legislation, the FAA Category 1 rating necessary for direct flights to the United States is still out of reach. Serbia's national carrier, Jat Airways, is undergoing restructuring in preparation for privatization, but remains deep in debt. At the same time, the country's sole commercial airport, Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport has seen decreased traffic due to the economic crisis, but officials are optimistic that the situation will improve once Serbian citizens are allowed visa free travel to the EU. END SUMMARY. FAA CATEGORY 1 RATING REMAINS OUT OF REACH -------------- ¶2. (SBU) As one of the conditions for Serbia to receive a Category 1 safety rating, a prerequisite for direct flights to the United States, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommended in 2003 that the Serbian government create new aviation oversight legislation to give independent authority and power to the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate (CAD). The last civil aviation law, passed in 1998 when Serbia was still part of Yugoslavia, is now obsolete. There have been four unsuccessful attempts to pass a new civil aviation law since FAA's 2003 recommendation, CAD Director General Nebojsa Starcevic told us on June 24. Starcevic cited competing stakeholder interests as the main obstacle to the passage of the law, but said he hoped to see the new law passed by September. Starcevic said he was disappointed that Serbia had not achieved Category 1 status from the FAA. He stated that Yugoslavia had Category 1 status under Slobodan Milosevic, so it was frustrating that even with technical advancements Serbia was not able to reach Category 1. Starcevic said Serbia would like to establish direct flights to the United States. He said that with half a million Serbs living in Chicago alone, direct flights between Serbia and the United States would be economically beneficial for both countries. FIRST PRISTINA, NEXT BELGRADE -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Touting the official government line on Serbia's territorial integrity over Kosovo, Starcevic said that with American charter airline Skenderbeg Air now flying direct from New York to Pristina, the Serbian government should be given reciprocity allowing Serbian carriers to fly direct to the United States. He conceded that he was aware that the United States would not share this view, and that the GoS would not seriously pursue this. EU AND SERBIA AVIATION RELATIONS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Serbia has made progress on its aviation relations with the EU. In May 2009, Serbia ratified the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) Agreement that it signed with the EU in 2006; however, the agreement will not go into effect until all EU countries have ratified it. Starcevic hoped that the remaining five EU countries would ratify the agreement soon for quick implementation. He estimated that Serbia had already implemented 90% of the procedures and regulations necessary for compliance with the ECAA agreement. This phase requires the ratifying country to open its skies and accept all incoming flight requests from all member countries. Starcevic said that Serbia was currently granting permission to 95% of flight requests into Serbia. Once the agreement was ratified by all of the EU countries the updated aviation legislation would be one of the only remaining obstacles to Serbia's full implementation of the agreement, Starcevic said. Although the CAD was eager to see the agreement implemented Jat Airways would likely suffer as a result of the increased competition facilitated by the agreement, Starcevic said. JAT AIRWAYS FOCUSES ON RESTRUCTURING -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The privatization of Serbian flag carrier, Jat, remains stalled. The process was halted in September 2008 after no company purchased the bid documents and was postponed for two years to allow the company time for restructuring. In accordance with the company's restructuring plan, Jat has been cutting costs, reducing the size of its workforce, updating its service and technology, and working to renew its fleet. Jat Executive Director Veljko Basaric told us on BELGRADE 00000751 002 OF 003 June 22 that in the last 18 months Jat had reduced costs by one-third. Jat instituted several cost-cutting measures including cutting the number of offices abroad, moving offices from city centers to airports, and cutting its overall workforce from 1600 to 1200 employees. After the restructuring is complete, Basaric expected Jat would have only 900 employees. Basaric anticipated that Jat's new contract with Jat Technics, which for the first time allowed for non-exclusivity, would save Jat an additional $8 million per year. In the last year and half Jat also modernized its systems with the introduction of on-line booking, a call center and a ticket refund policy. OLD BUT STILL FLYING -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Jat's 18-year old fleet is in desperate need of overhaul. Basaric said that the company would be "dead" if it did not renew its fleet in the next two years. Jat reopened negotiations with Airbus about a decade old dispute regarding Jat's acquisition of Airbus planes. They now expect to have the first of the new planes delivered next year. Basaric said that the deal with Airbus did not exclude the possibility of a deal with Boeing. JAT IN DEBT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Although Jat's exact indebtedness is uncertain, in April 2008 Jat's former CEO, Sasa Vlaisavljevic, confirmed in an interview with "Blic" daily that Jat was about $324 million in debt. In 2008, Jat's total losses reached $112 million Jat's new CEO Srdjan Radovanovic told Blic daily, on July 12. Basaric said that the Infrastructure Ministry was negotiating the debt and that it was not a factor in the privatization process, but that the government was satisfied with the company's restructuring. DELAYS IN DEPARTMENT OF PERMISSIONS AND TRAFFIC RIGHTS -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Basaric said that while their overall cooperation with the Serbian CAD was very positive, they were dissatisfied with their collaboration with the CAD's Department of Permissions and Traffic Rights. According to Basaric, the CAD was not negotiating permissions for flights in a timely manner. As a result, two recent problems occurred with charter flights to Turkey and Croatia. Jat scheduled charter flights to Turkey in May 2009, but shortly after Turkey's Civil Aviation Directorate granted permissions, they were revoked. Consequently, Jat had to cancel the flights until permissions were granted again several weeks later. In June 2009, Jat announced that it would offer direct flights between Belgrade and Dubrovnik, Croatia twice a week throughout the summer. According to local media, Jat discontinued selling tickets on July 3 because it only received permission for two flights. Serbia and Croatia, who do not have a permanent air traffic agreement, entered into a limited temporary agreement on July 14, opening the door to future talks. In that agreement Croatia offered temporary permissions for future Jat flights to Dubrovnik; however, Jat already discontinued all flights to Dubrovnik for the remainder of the season. AIRPORT ANTICIPATES INCREASE IN PASSENGERS -------------- ¶9. (SBU) While air traffic had decreased, Belgrade's Nikola Tesla International Airport remains profitable, Airport Interim Director General told us on July 8. The airport made $21 million in profit in 2008 and expected a profit of $28 million in 2009 according to Radosvljevic. Overall air traffic into the airport had decreased by about 10%, with 2.65 million passengers coming through the airport in 2008, down to a projected 2.4 million passengers for 2009. Radosvljevic said that the decreased traffic was a result of the financial crisis and a recent 30% decrease in air traffic between Serbia and Montenegro. He expected significant increases in the number of passengers going through the airport after the introduction of the Schengen Visa in Serbia (REF B). Radosvljevic projected approximately 4 million passengers would pass through the airport in ¶2011. According to Radosvljevic, the airport was prepared for this increase and had the capacity to handle 5.5 million passengers per year. ¶10. (SBU) Currently 22 airlines fly into the Nikola Tesla Airport and several other regional airlines are interested. In September 2008 the airport received a Category 3B rating, which allows airplanes to land at the airport with a runway visibility range (RVR) of 75 meters and to take off with an RVR between 125 and 150 meters. Radosvljevic said this was the best rating of any airport in the region. BELGRADE 00000751 003 OF 003 COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Although Serbian aviation authorities say they would like to establish direct flights between Serbia and the United States there is little movement to make this happen. Fulfilling FAA guidelines for Category 1 status is not Serbia's top priority, since the GoS is focused on its relations with the EU. As recently seen, this at times can also come at the detriment of improving air links with regional neighbors, such as Croatia and Turkey. Jat, with its enormous debt and inadequate fleet, remains unattractive for privatization despite the restructuring. The airport has been hit by the financial crisis, but is betting heavily on increased passenger traffic as a result of the possible introduction of Schengen visas for Serbians in 2010. End Comment. BRUSH