Due to the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Iran, many airlines are altering their flight routes to avoid airspace affected by hostilities. As a result, more flights are taking detours through alternative corridors, including the airspace managed by SMATSA, the Air Traffic Services Agency of Serbia and Montenegro.
Data from SMATSA shows that in the past six days, there has been about a 3% overall increase in flights across their controlled airspace compared to forecasts made before the conflict began. The rise is even more pronounced—around 8%—in the Montenegrin airspace and the international waters of the Southern Adriatic.
This shift highlights how quickly geopolitical tensions can impact global aviation patterns and redirect key traffic routes.
In 2024, SMATSA handled a total of 320,431 overflights in the Montenegrin airspace, including the Southern Adriatic international waters, and recorded 29,073 takeoffs and landings at Podgorica and Tivat airports.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian airspace was closed, and many European countries banned Russian flights while Russia reciprocated. This led to a surge in flights rerouted over Southeast and Central Europe, including Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Romania.
During that period, SMATSA’s controlled airspace saw a 20% increase in flights, with daily traffic peaking at 2,000 flights compared to the previous average of 1,600.
The closure of eastern air corridors and the Arctic route forced airlines to use southern alternatives, making the “Balkan corridor” a major transit route to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and North Africa.
Montenegro, as part of this corridor, experienced increased overflight traffic, especially on routes between Western Europe and the Middle East.
This growth also boosted revenue from air navigation services, and in 2022 SMATSA reported record operational results despite rising pressures on air traffic control resources, both in staffing and technology.
SMATSA manages the airspace over Serbia, Montenegro, and the international waters of the Southern Adriatic, covering about 145,000 square kilometers known as the Belgrade FIR. It provides air traffic control, approach and tower services, along with information and meteorological support, following ICAO and EUROCONTROL standards.
