Contents

Niš Constantine the Great Airport

Niš Constantine the Great Airport Аеродром Константин Велики Ниш Aerodrom Konstantin Veliki Niš
IATA: INI ICAO: LYNI
Summary
Airport type	International/Military
Owner	Government of Serbia
Operator	Airports of Serbia
Serves	Niš
Location	Medoševac and Popovac, Serbia
Focus city for	Air Serbia
Elevation AMSL	650 ft / 198 m
Coordinates	43°20′14″N 021°51′13″E / 43.33722°N 21.85361°E / 43.33722; 21.85361
Website	ini.aerodromisrbije.rs
Map
INI Location in Serbia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11R/29L 2,500 8,202 Asphalt 11L/29R 1,700 5,577 Grass
Statistics (2023)
Passengers 448,312 Aircraft movements 3,974 Cargo volume 69,648 kilograms (153,548 lb)
Sources: Serbian AIPatEurocontrol[1] Official website[2][3]

Niš Constantine the Great Airport (Serbian: Аеродром Константин Велики Ниш/Aerodrom Konstantin Veliki Niš) (IATA: INI, ICAO: LYNI), located 4 km (2.5 mi) northwest of downtown Niš, in the suburbs of Medoševac and Popovac. It is the second-largest and second-busiest airportinSerbia, after Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport.^[1] Niš Military Air Base (Serbian Air Force and Air Defence), the Serbian-Russian Emergency Response Centre and Centre for Aerial Firefighting Duties are all located on the site of the airport.

The first airfield serving the city of Niš was established in 1910, near the village of Donje Međurovo. In the 1930s, then-national airline company Aeroput used the airport for civil service. In 1935, Aeroput included a stop in Niš in its, back then, domestic route linking Belgrade with Skopje.^[4]

Following World War II, the airport was used as a military base. Among other units, it was a base for the 63rd Paratroop Brigade and 119th Aviation Brigade. A portion of the airport is still used by the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence. In 1952, at the site of today's airport, the first concrete runway, measuring 1,500 m (4,921 ft), was built and used for military flights. In order to maintain the pace with the development of military as well as civil aircraft, in 1972 the length of the runway was extended to 2,200 m (7,218 ft) to accommodate larger contemporary commercial aircraft.^[5]

In the 1970s, the airport was used for occasional service to the Adriatic coast. By the 1980s, this occasional service led the local authorities to recognize the needs of the people living in Niš as well as Southern and Eastern Serbia and took into account the economic development of the city. The association of economic and political entities prepared detailed terms and in 1986 made a decision on establishing the entity "Airport Niš".^[5]

The terminal building as well as the ancillary support facilities were built and opened to service in 1986. This project also included the asphalt coated runway and built-in system of lights that provided visual descent guidance during runway approaches at night. The development of air traffic in Niš was not initiated just by JAT Yugoslav Airlines, but also by Slovenian company Inex-Adria Airways (Adria Airways nowadays), although both were domestic airlines back then.^[6]

The Breakup of Yugoslavia at the beginning of the 1990s brought a sharp decrease in travelling to the Adriatic Sea, Ljubljana and Zagreb, once the busiest routes from Niš. This was followed by United Nations sanctions imposed on Serbia and Montenegro which included a ban on international air travel. In these circumstances the volume of traffic reached its lowest point with the only route being to Tivat Airport during the summer period. In 1998, the traffic volume increased owing to the heavy air traffic from Pristina International Airport which was out of use because of numerous foggy days during which the traffic was successfully carried out from Niš. The airport was heavily damaged during the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

The airport was reopened in 2003 with the financial assistance from the government of Norway. Damage sustained during the bombing was repaired, including the building of a new control tower and renewal of the terminal building.^[6]

In 2004, Jat Airways and Montenegro Airlines resumed flights from Niš to Zürich, Paris, and Tivat. In 2010, Wind Jet connected the airport with Forlì, Italy while Montenegro Airlines linked it with Podgorica on a daily basis. The route to Podgorica was discontinued in 2013 because of low passenger numbers. For more than two years (2014-2015) there were only charter flights to and from Niš.^[6]

The expansion in traffic began in 2015 when low-cost airline Wizz Air launched flights to Basel and Malmö. Shortly after, Ryanair followed the suit by announcing flights to Berlin. In 2016, both Wizzair and Ryanair announced more flights from Niš, respectively Wizzair to Dortmund, Eindhoven, Memmingen and Ryanair to Weeze, Bergamo and Bratislava. Shortly after the launch of these flights Niš experienced triple-digit growth in passenger traffic, exceeding the previous record figure. In October 2016, Turkish Cargo, the airline for the transport of cargo which is a part of Turkish Airlines commenced scheduled cargo service between Niš and Istanbul.^[7] In November 2016, Swiss International Air Lines announced flights to Zürich, operated by the Airbus 320. In December 2016, Swiss got direct competition when Germania Flug announced flights to Zürich, starting June 2017 operated by the Airbus 319. However, since 2020 no airlines operates services to Zürich.^[8]

As of 2019, plans existed for Niš Constantine the Great Airport to be linked to twelve more European cities, after Government of Serbia publish document about lines of public interests (PSO). Companies with the best offers will be granted 5 million euros. Twelve destinations of public interest are Frankfurt, Rome, Hannover, Ljubljana, Bologna, Budapest, Göteborg, Friedrichshafen, Karlsruhe, Salzburg, Nuremberg, Tivat.^[9] Currently, the airport serves the total of fourteen regular non stop destinations in eight countries during the whole year, plus four seasonal and three seasonal charter flights during peak summer months.^[10]

In December 2016, it was announced that Constantine the Great Airport airport began overhaul of its terminal by expanding check-in and boarding space, as well as building a new exterior and fixing the roof. The project is being funded jointly by the Government of Serbia and local authorities.

As of 2022, progress has been made in construction of the new Airport terminal. The new terminal will span over an area of 7.160 square meters and will feature ten check-in desks, self-check-in stations, eight passport control booths, four passenger gates, one VIP gate, one air bridge and a luggage sorting facility. The new terminal is set to be completed in 2024 and the expansion will enable the Airport to handle up to 1.5 million passenger annually.^[11]

In 2023, it was announced that SMATSA (Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services Agency) plans to start construction in 2024 of a new control tower and an instrument landing system (ILS), which provides guidance to aircraft approaching and landing on a runway during low ceilings or reduced visibility due to fog, rain or snow.^[12]

The following airlines operate regular scheduled, seasonal and charter flights from Niš Constantine the Great Airport:

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Passenger and Flight movements statistics (2004–2023)^[15]

Year	Passengers	Change	Aircraft movements	Change	Cargo (t)	Change
2004	19,040		284		147
2005	26,787	41%	315	11%	452	207%
2006	35,518	33%	382	12%	112	75%
2007	30,453	14%	456	19%	448	300%
2008	22,870	24%	353	23%	163	64%
2009	17,159	25%	349	1%	390	139%
2010	23,627	38%	558	60%	1,554	298%
2011	25,112	6%	591	6%	705	66%
2012	27,426	9%	781	32%	322	54%
2013	21,700	21%	497	36%	343	10%
2014	1,335	93%	271	45%	285	19%
2015	36,200	2,611%	526	94%	553	91%
2016	124,917	345%	722	37%	1,967	355%
2017	331,582	165.4%	1,477	104.6%	2,537	29.3%
2018	351,582	6%	1,417	4%	688	74.5%
2019	422,255	20%	1,967	39%	1,180	71.5%
2020	154,233	63%	1,011	49%	523	56%
2021	146,296	5%	1,040	3%	310	32.2%
2022	389,022	166%	1,928	85%	91	70%
2023	448,312	15.24%	3,974	3.06%	70	24.08%

The Sergeant-pilot Mihajlo Petrović Air Base (Serbian: Војни аеродром наредник-пилот Михајло Петровић, romanized: Vojni aerodrom pukovnik-pilot Mihajlo Petrović), commonly known as Niš Air Base (Serbian: Војни аеродром Ниш, romanized: Vojni aerodrom Niš) is located at the airport. Operated by the Serbian Air Force and Air Defence, base is home to the 119th Mixed Helicopter Squadron "Dragons" of the 98th Air Brigade. It is also home to the elite 63rd Parachute Brigade, special forces unit.^[16]

In 2009, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations established a joint Serbian-Russian Emergency Response Centre at the Niš Constantine the Great Airport, also known as Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center. In 2011, a Russian Mil Mi-26 and Beriev Be-200 were dispatched to this centre for aerial firefighting duties in the region.^[17] The centre was put into operation in 2012.^[18]

There are two bus lines operated by city public bus company (PE Directorate for Public Urban Transport Niš) that connects airport to the city center and most of the Niš suburbs - line 34A (Airport-Central Bus Station-Central Railway station-Airport) and 34B (Airport-Central Railway station-Central Bus Station-Airport).^[19] One single ticket costs around 80 dinars (0,68 euro) and can be purchased directly in the bus. Buses are running every 20 to 30 minutes.^[20] On the following website you can check all the public transport lines operated by PE Directorate for Public Urban Transport Niš: https://www.jgpnis.rs/red-voznje/

Approximately 50 meters on the left side when exit passenger terminal is a parking lot and a taxi stand.^[21]

There are nine rent a car agencies available at the airport.^[22]

Niš Constantin the Great Airport has parking in front of the terminal building that works 24 hours every day. First 15 minutes are free of charge, and after you have to pay. It is possible to pay with cash or bank cards.^[23]

• List of airports in Serbia
• Airports of Serbia
• Transport in Serbia
• Air Serbia

Media related to Niš Constantine the Great Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website

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