The Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter in the text: Directorate) is a public agency, the founder’s rights over which are exercised by the Government on behalf of the Republic of Serbia, and which performs the About state administration activities entrusted to it by law.
The legal status of Directorate has been defined in the Air Transport Law (“Official Gazette of RS”, Nos 73/10, 57/11, 93/12, 45/15, 66/15- by other law, 83/18 and 9/20).
Directorate enacts the regulations and inpidual legal acts in the first instance when entrusted so by law, issues public identification documents, maintains the records, performs the audit and inspection of aviation entities, participates in the work of international civil aviation organizations and institutions and their working bodies, and cooperates with competent authorities of other countries and exercises other functions under the said law or other regulations.
Article 265 of the Air Traffic Law stipulates that notwithstanding the regulations for the enactment of which the Directorate is empowered, the Directorate shall adopt the regulations in the domain of aviation contained in Annex I to the Multilateral Agreement on the Establishment of a European Common Aviation Area (the ECAA Agreement).
Directorate is the National Supervisory Authority of the Republic of Serbia in the area of air navigation, in accordance with EU regulations and as such issues the Certificates of competency for provision of air navigation services and assesses if the air navigation services providers continue to fulfill the prescribed conditions.
By means of the Law on Obligations and the Basics of the Property Relations in Air Transport (“Official Gazette of RS”, Nos 87/11 and 66/15) Directorate is also entrusted with functions of oversight on the implementation of the provision of the said Law guaranteeing certain rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility and availability of information to those persons about their rights.
This Decision is based on Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Law on Public Agencies (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, Nos. 18/05, 81/05 – correction, 47/18), Article 238 of the Law on Air Transport (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, Nos. 73/10, 57/11, 93/12, 45/15, 66/15 – other law, 83/18, 9/20, 62/23, 19/25), and Article 43, paragraph 2 of the Law on Government (Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia, Nos. 55/05, 71/05 – correction, 101/07, 65/08, 16/11, 68/12 – CC, 72/12, 7/14 – CC, 44/14, 30/18 – other law), The Government adopts the following
Decision on the Appointment of the Chair and Members of the Management Board of the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia.
The following persons are appointed to the Management Board of the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia:
Ognjen Babic
Acting Director of the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia
Verica Jecmenica
Deputy Acting Director of the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia
Aleksandar Godic
Assistant Director
Air Operations, Airworthiness and Flight Crew Licencing division
Vladimir Pavlovic
Assistant Director
Air Navigation, Aerodromes and Security division
Goran Jovicic
Assistant Director
Support division
Search and Rescue division
Vladan Petrovic
Assistant Director
Finances division
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The Kingdom of Serbia was one of the first countries to establish a legal framework in the field of civil aviation by adopting the “Decree on Transport Devices in Air Travel” on 21 February 1913. Few months later a similar regulation was adopted in the United States of America.
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was one of the original ten signatories to the “International Convention for Regulating Aeronautics”, adopted in Paris, in October 1919.
In the course of the period between the two World Wars, the civil aviation authority in Serbia operated as within the framework of a separate department under the Military Aviation Headquarters.
Following the Second World War, in 1946, the Office for Civil Aeronautics was established thus becoming a part of the Ministry of Transport in January 1947. Somewhat later, under a different name – the Federal Office for Civil Aviation – the aviation authority began to function independently until 1978, when it was incorporated into the Federal Ministry of Transport and pided into three departments:
Following the creation of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2003, a reorganisation of the aviation authority took place in view of its harmonisation with the standards of international aviation organisations standards and the European requirements. The emphasis was on creating a competent and effective aviation authority which would regulate civil aviation and preserve the safety and security of air services.
Basic characteristics of a modern aviation authority are the integration of state regulatory and supervisory functions into one specialized and financially independent authority as well as the disassociation of the air traffic service provider from the regulatory and supervisory authority.
The Governments of Serbia and Montenegro established the Civil Aviation Directorate of the State of Serbia and the State of Montenegro on 1 January 2004. Simultaneously, the Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services Agency Ltd was founded for providing air navigation services.
Following the dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, the Parliament of the Republic of Serbia adopted on 5 June 2006 the Resolution on the Legal Succession to the International Legal Subjectivity of Serbia and Montenegro. Based on this Resolution, the Republic of Serbia became legal successor of the founding rights of the Directorate.
Serbian Aviation Pioneers
Dr Vladimir Aleksic
Dr Vladimir Aleksic was the first Serbian aviator who managed to take off on 17 October 1909, with a flying machine he has designed by himself – a biplane glider catapulted by a rubber cord.
Ivan Saric (1876-1966)
Ivan Sarić was a Serbian aviation pioneer and a self-taught constructor who created and piloted his first aircraft, “Sarić 1”, in 1910. The aircraft was powered by a 24 HP three cylinder engine. Having been satisfied with the results he achieved, Ivan Sarić organised the first public flight event on 16 October 1910, attended by an audience of 7,000 people. In early 1911, Sarić finished the improved “Sarić 2” model.
First Air Transport LawDokument 1913
The Kingdom of Serbia was amongst the first European states to set a legal framework in the field of civil aviation, by promulgating the Regulation on Transport Devices Navigating by Air on 21 February 1913, a few months before a similar regulation was adopted in the USA. link
2019 – ICAO Audit Confirmed: Serbia Set New Standards in Civil Aviation
Between 19th and 26th March 2019, the Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia was evaluated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which resulted in excellent outcomes.
At the invitation of Director Mirjana Cizmarov, ICAO evaluated Serbia’s civil aviation system and determined a compliance rate of 93.71%, which represented an improvement of 27.31% compared to the evaluation conducted in 2009.
The ICAO assessment reviewed the alignment of Serbian laws and by-laws with the provisions of the Chicago Convention and its annexes under the LEG protocol, achieving a compliance score of 95.24%. It also assessed the issuance of licenses to aviation personnel and the certification of training centres under the PEL protocol, with a compliance score of 97.59%, and traffic operations under the TSO protocol, achieving a compliance score of 96.69%.
The assessment further covered the airworthiness of aircraft under the AIP protocol, with a compliance rating of 93.46%, as well as airports and ground assets under the AGA protocol, which achieved a compliance rating of 91.11%.
This achievement places the Republic of Serbia among the top ten countries worldwide in civil aviation, a testament to the collective efforts of all public and private entities in the aviation sector. It ensures that Serbian air passengers benefit from the highest standards of safety and service.
In recognition of the implementation of aviation safety standards and best practices, as well as the resolution of deficiencies identified in 2018, the ICAO Council, at its milestone 40th triennial meeting on 24 September 2019 in Montreal, honoured Director Mirjana Cizmarov with a special plaque.
2022 – New achievement and another ICAO certificate for Serbia – ensuring aviation security at the highest level
The Director of the Directorate of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Serbia, Mirjana Cizmarov, attended the ICAO Assembly meeting in Montreal on September 27, 2022, where she was presented with a certificate for exceptional success in the implementation of standards and recommended practices in the aviation security system.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) conducted a compliance assessment of the aviation security (AVSEC) and facilitation (FAL) systems of the Republic of Serbia from May 16 to 26, 2022, and determined that the overall level of compliance of these systems is 94.73%. This placed the Republic of Serbia among the small number of countries that apply the highest level of aviation security measures and facilitation in air traffic.
The achieved compliance result of 94.73% represents an improvement of 23.89% compared to the assessment conducted in 2010, confirming that the Directorate has made significant progress in the field of aviation security in recent years.
The certificate from the ICAO Council President for aviation security was established in support of the "No Country Left Behind" initiative, and the compliance criteria used for this recognition are objective, transparent, and the same for all countries.
This result, along with the success from 2019 when Director Cizmarov received a certificate for successful implementation of ICAO standards and recommended practices in aviation security (with a compliance rate of 93.3%), represents the highest recognition for the employees of the Directorate.
93,3 %
the degree of compliance of the civil aviation system in the Republic of Serbia with international standards and recommended practices in the field of aviation safety
94,73 %
the degree of compliance of the civil aviation system in the Republic of Serbia with international standards and recommended practices in securing and facilitating civil aviation
500 +
Safa inspection
1700 +
passenger complaint
5200 +
aviation personnel license of various categories
Directorate has been established in the legal form of the public agency in 2010, by enacting the said Air Transport Law.
Nevertheless, prior to the enaction of this law, Directorate had functions entrusted to it by the Decision on the Establishment of the Civil Aviation Directorate of the state of Serbia and the state of Montenegro (“Official Gazette of RS”, No 102/03 and “Official Gazette of Montenegro No 61/03) enacted in identical text by the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Government of Montenegro. By virtue of the said Decision, Directorate has been established as the joint body of those two States.
After Montenegro broke away from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, the Government of the Republic of Serbia brought the Decision on the Exercise of the Founding Rights in the Civil Aviation Directorate of the State of Serbia and the State of Montenegro (“Official Gazette of RS”, Nos 53/06) and then in 2007, the separate Conclusion has been brought modifying the name of the body into the “Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia”.
From the fees that are prescribed by the Law on Air Transport of the Republic of Serbia to be paid to the Directorate;
Portions of fees paid in accordance with the Multilateral Agreement on Route Charges or other ratified international agreements and portions of terminal charges, determined by the annual cost base for the performance of regulatory and supervisory tasks;
A fee paid by all departing passengers of public air transport, through the airport operator, to improve air traffic;
Fees paid by aircraft users per ton of mail and cargo transported in outbound air transport, through airport operators, for the improvement of air traffic;
Other sources, in accordance with the law. The regulation of the Directorate on the amount of fees determined by this Law to be paid to the Directorate, the amount of the fee paid by all passengers in outbound public air transport and the amount of the fee paid by aircraft users per ton of mail and goods transported in outbound air transport shall enter into force upon obtaining the consent of the Government.
The Civil Aviation Directorate of the Republic of Serbia has developed the guidelines to provide legal and natural persons with the access to information within the competence of the Directorate under Article 15 (1) of the Law on Free Access to Information of Public Importance ("Official Gazette of RS" No. 120/04 and 54/07)
Download the guideFor questions related to the protection of personal data, the Directorate of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Serbia can be contacted
