NEWS FLASH
Work on the expansion of Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport continues to progress. The bulk of the construction is currently taking place in the future 2,800 square meter central plaza behind the duty-free area, including the opening of new food and beverage outlets. A new Hudson News store was recently opened, while work is underway on Ambar, a Balkan cuisine restaurant with branches in downtown Belgrade and Washington DC, Burrito Madre, a local Mexican fast food chain, and an In and Out burger joint, inspired by the popular American chain In-n-Out, with more branches set to open soon.
As previously reported, local chain Monument is building a new land restaurant in the Terminal 1 building, while popular local bakery chain Hleb & Kifle is opening a new store in Wing C of the terminal, next to the transfer desk between Gates C2 and C3.
A new hangar is currently being built behind the airport’s B platform. EX-YU Aviation News has learned that it will be an aircraft maintenance workshop and spare parts warehouse for Prince Aviation. When asked for comment, the company said it could neither confirm nor deny that the new hangar belongs to it.
Alstef Group has completed the modernization of the airport’s baggage handling system. While on-site work began in June 2022 with the installation of 28 check-in conveyors and counters, exit control and sorting systems, roller walkways, oversize lines and roller tables, the subsequent phase included the installation of 33 check-in conveyors and counters, an exit control system, carousel-based sorting systems and a roller walkway. Phase 3, completed in June this year, focused on establishing a two-way connection between Terminals 1 and 2, integrating key systems and installing 50 conveyors. The final departure phase focused on the dedicated transfer line, which consists of thirteen conveyors designed for efficient baggage transfer. The entire system is controlled via Alstef Group Bagware – a proprietary software suite that provides sorting allocation control as well as supervisory control and data collection. A notable innovation in this project is the integration of the BAGXONE automated guided vehicle (AGV, see image below), which provides a link between the screening zone and the departure checkouts. In rare cases, the AGV can also efficiently redirect baggage from the screening zone to the baggage destruction zone.
The airport has also upgraded its 24/7 real-time operations and monitoring systems. TR Services Serbia, the project’s AV integrator, installed five new video walls in the airport’s upgraded control center. The system monitors cameras as well as certain web applications and allows for a range of layouts and presets.
