Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali on Monday denied claims that the government is subsidizing Air Serbia in secret.

Mali said in an opinion piece for Belgrade daily Politika that the national air carrier is not a fiscal risk for the state and its citizens. He said that Air Serbia had contributed 9.8 billion Dinars to the state budget in 2020.  

“Accusations have been made that Air Serbia is being subsidized from the Serbian budget in secret. What the critics do not seem to know, or are pretending not to know, is that all aid payments, every Dinar from the budget to Air Serbia is subject to control because they could jeopardize competition among companies,” the minister said in the piece, recalling that Serbia agreed to abide by clearly defined European Union rules when it signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement.  

The minister said that the consequences of old pre-restructuring debts are still being felt by the airline which, he claims, was not facing difficulties prior to the coronavirus pandemic. According to Mali, Air Serbia placed all of its capacities at the disposal of the government and the thousands of people it flew home.  

“Like all other airlines in the world, Air Serbia needs help and all the conditions have been met for state aid,” the minister wrote.