Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport - how connection-friendly is it?
Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade (IATA code: BEG) is the hub of Air Serbia and the main international airport of the country of Serbia. It consists of two terminals - Terminal 1 used by low cost carriers and charter airlines and Terminal 2 used by Air Serbia and the remaining foreign legacy carriers. Belgrade Airport (BEG) used to be a state run airport, which had its effects on quality of service. However, airport has been assigned to the French company Vinci, which began rennovation activities in 2020. Most of them have been completed and the airport now features a modern look.
Belgrade airport is turning into an important regional hub as it maintains flight connections with nearly all the Balkan International airports (except for Kosovo) and also offer long-haul transatlantic flights to USA, Canada and China.
One of the main areas of concern is baggage handling, where passengers are advised to lock their transit checked baggaged in order to prevent thefts. While waiting for their next flights, tranist passengers can enjoy a duty free shop and a few cafes & bars. You can enjoy free unlimited wifi in the transit area of the airport.
As the map shows, BEG is quite a compact airport, which allows for relatively quick transit inbetween flights. The official minimum connection time is 45 min on average. Air Serbia, a connecting flights oriented airline, uses BEG as its hub and main passenger transit point, so this service is well developed and there is a check in/transfer desk available for transit passengers.
Transit passengers from most destinations do not need to pass through security check once they arrive in Belgrade, as they have already cleared security at the departure airport. However passengers arriving from certain non-certified destinations would need to undergo security check again.
Nikola Tesla Airport Belgrade, source: Wikimedia (Images before the rennovation)
As of June 2024 Belgrade airport introduced a Call2gate notification service, which means that the departure gates are no longer indicated on the boarding passes, but on the terminal screens only. Gate numbers are displayed between 70 minutes to 120 minutes before the scheduled departure time, depending on the destination.
In case of a long layover at Belgrade Airport, and provided you are allowed visa free entrance to Serbia, you can easily use the time to visit the city center of Belgrade by grabbing a taxi. The distance is around 18km and unlike western Europe, taxi service is rather inexpensive in Serbia.
For overnight stay near Belgrade ariport, there is a big number of hotels and hotel appartments situatied in the nearby neighborhood of Ledine, just some 3 km from the terminal. To browse and book hotels conveniently located near the airport follow this link.
The Nikola Tesla airport of Belgrade serves the following airlines: Air Serbia (hub), Aegean Airlines, Aeroflot, Alitalita, Austrian Airlines, Belavia, Croatia Airlines, Easyjet (low cost), Atlas Global (low cost), Etihad Airways, Fly Dubai (low cost), German wings (low cost), Lot, Lufthansa, Norwegian (low cost), Montenegro Airlines, Pegasus (low cost), Qatar Airways, Swiss, Tarom, Transavia, Turkish Airlines, Vueling (low cost), Wizz Air.
By Connectionreview.com editorial team.
Updated June 2024