Air Montenegro

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Air Montenegro
To Montenegro a.d
Air Montenegro logo.jpg
IATA ICAO Callsign
ZQ[citation needed] MNE MOUNT EAGLE
Founded8 February 2021; 11 months ago (8 February 2021)
Commenced operations10 June 2021; 7 months ago (10 June 2021)
(as the Air Montenegro)[1]
HubsPodgorica Airport
Secondary hubsTivat Airport
Fleet size2
Destinations6
Parent companyGovernment of Montenegro
HeadquartersPodgorica, Montenegro
Key peoplePredrag Todorović, CEO
Websiteairmontenegro.com

To Montenegro a.d (stylised as ToMontenegro and 2Montenegro), is the flag carrier of Montenegro, which is branded and operates under the name Air Montenegro (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Ер Монтенегро), a new company opened in early 2021 by the Government of Montenegro.[2] Air Montenegro officially launched operations in June 2021.[3]

History[]

Background and origins[]

Main article: Montenegro Airlines

The predecessor airline company Montenegro Airlines was founded on 24 October 1994, by the government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.[4] The first aircraft, a Fokker 28 Mk4000 (nicknamed "Lovćen"), was purchased almost two years later in 1996.[4] The first commercial flight took place on 7 May 1997, at exactly 10:30 between Podgorica and Bari, Italy.[4] In April 2000, its became a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).[4] In June 2000, the first of five Fokker 100 aircraft was delivered to Podgorica Airport.[4] The airline joined Amadeus CRS on 5 March 2003.[4] In 2004, Montenegro Airlines' pilots were the first in the region to be granted the IIIA certificate. In August 2016, it was reported that accounts belonging to Montenegro Airlines had been frozen after the airline failed to comply with a court ruling regarding the payment of debts to the operator of the country's airports. Montenegro Airlines owed the company more than US$15 million.[5]

In December 2020, the Government of Montenegro announced the shutdown and liquidation of the Montenegro Airlines a.d company in the forthcoming weeks stating mismanagement and accumulating losses for several years.[6][7] Shortly after, it has been announced that the airline will suspend all flights from 26 December 2020 marking the end of its operations.[8]

Airline foundation[]

On 29 December 2020, it was announced by Minister Mladen Bojanić that the Montenegro Airlines would be reorganized and replaced with a new company the To Montenegro (2 Montenegro), as the new Montenegrin flag carrier airline.[9] The liquidation procedure of Montenegro Airlines would cost about 50 million euro but it is inevitable, as the country's competition authority has ruled that the law for public investment in the flag carrier adopted in 2019 was illegal, the government said in December 2021.[10]

The new company was officially introduced on 2 March 2021 by the government. In April 2021, it was reported that the Montenegrin government made Air Montenegro the official name for the ToMontenegro project and that the airline would start up using two of Montenegro Airlines' former Embraer-195 aircraft.[11] On 10 June 2021, Minister of Economic Development of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović paid a visit to the neighboring Republic of Serbia, being one of the passengers at the first commercial flight of the new national airline Air Montenegro to Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade.[12][13]

Fleet[]

Air Montenegro fleet (July 2021)
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
Y Total
Embraer 195 2 1 116 116 Transferred from Montenegro Airlines
Total 2 1 —

References[]

  1. ^ Prvi let, Air Montenegro, 1 June 2021
  2. ^ Predstavljena nova crnogorska aviokompanija, Al Jazeera Balkans, 2 March 2021
  3. ^ Air Montenegro poleće, aviatica.rs, 28 May 2021
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Istorijat". Montenegro Airlines. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2012-10-07.
  5. ^ ch-aviation.com - Montenegro Airlines accounts frozen over ACG debts 12 August 2016
  6. ^ "Montenegro Closes Indebted National Airline". 25 December 2020.
  7. ^ aerotelegraph.com (German) 25 December 2020
  8. ^ "Montenegro's indebted state airline ceases operations". CTV News. 2020-12-26.
  9. ^ Bojanić: Nova kompanija zvaće se "2 Montenegro", 29 December 2020, Vijesti
  10. ^ Montenegro's new flag carrier starts regular operations, SeeNews, 10 June 2021
  11. ^ Podgorica rebrands ToMontenegro as Air Montenegro - CH-Aviation
  12. ^ First flight of national airline Air Montenegro will be to Serbia, Government of Montenegro, 9 June 2021
  13. ^ Montenegro Airlines successor Air Montenegro reveals launch date, AeroTime, 3 June 2021

External links[]

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