Mrkonjic: Serbia will get new airline

Belgrade, June 19. 2010. (Serbia Today) - Infrastructure Minister Milutin Mrkonjić announced recently that a new airline will be founded in the near future. The new company is supposed to take the role of Serbia's current national carrier Jat Airways. "We are in the final stages of establishing a new company. The basic idea is to keep Jat in business and the state still wants to have its own airline," the minister told reporters. The minister said the government is trying to find a partner who would purchase a share in Jat Airways. "If we are able to come to an agreement with someone who wants to buy a part of Jat, we will do so. If not, we will own the whole airline. One thing is certain - Serbia will have its own airline," Mrkonjić explained. Speaking about Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Mrkonjić said that the government still has not discussed whether to privatize the company. "The airport operates with a sizable profit, which flows into the state budget. The airport is a profitable and successful company with profits of some EUR 15mn," the infrastructure minister noted.