Etihad to quit Air Serbia co-ownership, state to take full control
Baku, November 14, AZERTAC
Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Monday that Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates’ national airline company, is to quit its co-ownership of Serbian carrier Air Serbia, according to BalkanInsight.
Mali said that the Serbian state will take over Etihad’s 18 per cent share in full.
“Air Serbia is the largest airline in the region. From a company that was in bankruptcy, we turned it into a leader that now flies on four continents, in a large number of countries, and we have become an example of how, through a successful airline, you can further contribute to the economic development of your country,” Mali said.
He did not specify whether Air Serbia will require recapitalisation to pay for Etihad’s share, but he described the news that the Emirati company is quitting the co-ownership as “their business decision”.
He added that the state intends to further develop Air Serbia, and stated that “next will be the procurement of large aircraft, the opening up of new destinations”.
In 2013, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad bought 49 per cent of Serbia’s loss-making Yugoslav-era flag carrier JAT Airways, rebranding it Air Serbia.
In 2021, the Serbian state increased its stake in the company from 51 to 82 per cent, reducing the share held by Etihad from 49 to 18 per cent.
Serbia’s ruling Progressive Party has long touted the creation of Air Serbia as a success story of partial privatisation. But not all the contracts between Serbia and Etihad were made public, so public have been given little real insight into how much of their taxes have been spent to keep its planes in the air.
The Serbian state also injected hundreds of millions of euros into the struggling company. Although the airline’s business has since grown, experts have criticised the amount of money given to Air Serbia and the non-transparency of the subsidies.
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