Foto: BB.LV / Пассажирский самолёт авиакомпании Air Serbia.
A plane of Air Serbia, flying from Belgrade to Moscow, unexpectedly turned back over Lithuania and returned to the departure airport. The reason was a security check issue with one of the passengers. According to Serbian media, it may have involved the well-known politician Aleksandar Vulin, who allegedly boarded without passing the necessary control. Vulin himself called the incident a political reprisal. As reported by Glas Srpske, citing Serbian portals N1 and Nova.rs, the incident occurred on the evening of November 3 on flight JU134, which was heading from Belgrade to Moscow. The plane took off from Nikola Tesla Airport, but already over Lithuania, the crew received orders to return to the Serbian capital. ### What happened on board? According to unofficial information from Serbian journalists, it turned out that one of the passengers did not pass the mandatory security check, and his luggage was not properly inspected. Sources from Nova.rs claim that this passenger was Aleksandar Vulin, the chairman of the Socialist Movement of Serbia. Moreover, according to the publication, the politician allegedly managed to board despite the lack of necessary checks, and he may have been assisted in this. The plane was under procedures applied in cases of possible bomb threats on board for several hours. According to Nova.rs, the order to return the flight was given by Milan Kuč, the director of corporate security at Belgrade airport, who previously served in the special unit "Cobra." ### The airline confirmed the plane's return Air Serbia officially acknowledged that flight JU134 was forced to return to Belgrade. The company explained that they received information from the relevant airport services that required additional security measures concerning one of the passengers. In accordance with existing regulations, the decision was made to return the aircraft to conduct all necessary checks. At the same time, the airline did not name the passenger that necessitated the return. ### Vulin accused opponents of political reprisal Aleksandar Vulin categorically rejected the accusations. After the plane's return, he went live on Informer TV and stated that the incident was an attempt at political pressure. "All of this is a lie, mockery, and an attempt to prove to the new authorities how ready they are to protect their ideology here at the airport," the politician stated. Vulin expressed regret that the incident affected the plans of numerous passengers. According to him, he was heading to Moscow on official business to participate in negotiations on extending the gas agreement. The politician also mentioned that he was sleeping during the flight and learned after waking up that the plane had already returned to Belgrade. After landing, he, like the other passengers, had to go through security checks again. ### There were two other notable passengers on board Along with Vulin, the director of the state gas company Srbijagas, Dušan Bajatović, and the chairman of the Serbian People's Party, Nenad Popović, were also heading to Moscow. Bajatović told N1 that after returning to Belgrade, airport staff thoroughly checked all passengers and their luggage. According to him, people were only informed that the re-inspection was necessary for security reasons. The head of Srbijagas noted that there were about 150 people on board, mostly citizens of Russia. He explained his trip to Moscow as necessary to discuss issues related to gas supply and payments arising from the situation surrounding Alta Banka. At the same time, Bajatović stated that he was unaware of the reasons for Vulin and Popović's trip. ### The flight eventually departed for Moscow Despite the hours-long delay, passengers were able to continue their journey. According to Bajatović, shortly before two o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, November 4, all passengers boarded the plane again, after which it departed for Moscow. Thus, the incident ended without reports of dangerous items being found, but it left many questions. The main one is whether the well-known politician really managed to board an international flight without the mandatory security check and, if so, who allowed such a violation. So far, only the need for additional control of one passenger has been officially confirmed, while the circumstances directly related to Vulin remain the subject of media reports and political disputes.
