Serbia ATC strike through Sept 30 may slow overflights

Published on Aug 22, 2025, 4:02 pm CDT

6 min read

Serbia's largest air traffic control union began an open-ended strike window at 11 p.m. CET on August 19, with action scheduled to run through 11 p.m. CET on September 30. Minimum service is in place, but travelers can expect spacing measures, reroutes, and knock-on delays for flights to, from, and over Serbia. The industrial action centers on pay demands at Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services, known as SMATSA.

Key Points

Why it matters: Prolonged Serbia ATC strike can delay Europe overflights bound for the Balkans and East Med.
Travel impact: Expect reroutes and miles-in-trail through Belgrade ACC, lengthening flight times and connection risks.
What's next: The strike window runs until September 30 unless a settlement is reached, with minimum service maintained.
Union says action started August 19, 11 p.m. CET, after stalled talks on pay and a new collective agreement.
SMATSA manages upper airspace over Serbia and parts of the Adriatic region used by East-West flows.

Snapshot

Belgrade's area control center is applying reduced-capacity procedures during a legally protected strike, which can trigger ATFM regulations, extended routings, and holding. Overflight traffic between Central Europe and Greece, Türkiye, Cyprus, and the Middle East often crosses Serbian airspace, so ripple delays are likely even if your flight neither departs nor arrives in Serbia. Air Serbia operations at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG) may face schedule changes, while some Montenegro sectors are reported outside the action, limiting but not eliminating reroute pressure. For day-of planning, see the FAA daily air traffic report, August 22, 2025 and our Europe Airport Strikes: Compensation and Re-Routing Guide.

Background

SMATSA confirmed the strike notice covers August 19 to September 30, with minimum service, and cited union demands for urgent wage increases for certain categories. Local and regional outlets reported the start time as 11 p.m. CET and noted that the dispute follows months of labor friction around staffing and pay. SMATSA oversees an area of more than 110,000 square kilometers across Serbia and Montenegro and handled roughly 976,000 IFR flights last year, underlining the network significance of any capacity reduction. Montenegro authorities and media indicated no strike on their territory, a point still watched by operators for any change. Eurocontrol network briefs have already highlighted Belgrade ACC among sectors affecting on-time performance this summer, even before the strike period.

Latest Developments

Where delays will show up across the network

Flights between Germany, Austria, or Italy and the Greek islands, Türkiye, or Cyprus often file through Serbia's upper airspace. During the strike, expect tactical reroutes via neighboring FIRs, additional miles-in-trail, and en-route spacing that can push arrivals past connection banks. Airlines may proactively pad block times or swap routings day-of-departure, which can move your seat assignment or aircraft type. Belgrade ACC constraints can also slow regional flows to Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Romania as controllers balance sector loads. Even modest en-route restrictions can cascade into late crews and missed slots elsewhere in Europe, so monitor itineraries with tight connections. Minimum service rules reduce the probability of wholesale cancellations, but longer flying times and late-evening curfews at downline airports can still force resets.

Your rebooking and compensation rights in Europe

If your itinerary departs an EU airport, EU261 requires airlines to provide care and a choice of re-routing or refund during disruptions. However, cash compensation generally does not apply when the root cause is an air traffic control strike, which is treated as an extraordinary circumstance. UK261 mirrors this approach. For flights departing Serbia to the EU on a non-EU carrier, EU261 compensation rules do not apply, although carriers still owe assistance under their contracts and the Montreal Convention for proven losses. Keep receipts for meals and hotels, use airline apps to self-rebook, and ask agents to endorse tickets to partners when inventory is tight. If the disruption involves an airline's own staff strike, different court rulings may apply, sometimes allowing compensation.

Analysis

This action lands in late-summer peak, when East-West flows are heavy and convective weather already compresses sector capacity. Belgrade ACC sits on several efficient corridors linking Central Europe to the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, so even small reductions in throughput can have outsized effects on missed connections and crew legality. Minimum service should keep most flights operating, yet extra track miles or longer routing via alternative FIRs will erode schedule buffers. That, in turn, raises evening curfew risks at noise-sensitive airports and triggers re-crewing the next morning. Operators will pair miles-in-trail with tactical level capping and flexible routings to keep the network moving, but passengers will feel it as twenty to sixty minute delays that occasionally spill into cancellations when rotations fall apart.

The traveler playbook is straightforward. Build longer connections, especially when heading to islands or secondary airports with limited frequencies. Use airline apps the moment delay codes populate, since rebooking inventory disappears fast on weekend peaks. If you booked separate tickets, proactively protect misconnects with earlier feeders. EU261 care rules still apply during ATC strikes, even when cash payouts do not, so push for meal, hotel, and ground transport vouchers when thresholds are met. Finally, keep an eye on Montenegro routing and any government mediation signals that could tighten or relax constraints in the window to September 30.

Final Thoughts

A weeks-long labor window in Serbia's upper airspace is exactly the kind of slow-burn disruption that chips away at on-time performance across the region. Most flights will still operate, but expect modest delays and occasional cancellations as rotations unwind. Travelers who pad connections, monitor apps, and leverage EU261 care will handle the bumps with less stress. Keep plans flexible through September 30, especially on routes touching the Balkans or the East Med. With minimum service in place, the network should cope, but schedule buffers will stay thin until the dispute is resolved, or the window closes on the Serbia ATC strike.