Montenegro Turns Back Belgrade Charter Flight Before Summit

The Police Directorate of Montenegro announced that on June 3 it separated and placed under control a charter flight on the Belgrade-Tivat route at the Tivat Airport border crossing, citing heightened measures ahead of the European Union and Western Balkans summit. The flight, according to the same statement carried by regional media, brought about 90 Serbian citizens.

The passengers were held on the tarmac for checks and then returned to Belgrade on the first available flight. According to figures cited by Sarajevo’s Avaz, the aircraft was an Air Serbia Embraer E195, registration YU-ATC, which landed around 10:41 and departed back toward Belgrade at 15:53 with all passengers on board. The summit, hosted by Montenegro, is scheduled for June 5 in Tivat.

What is official, and what is disputed

The official part of the story rests on the Montenegrin police statement. It sets out the reason (security measures), the location (Tivat Airport crossing) and the procedure (separating and checking the flight). None of those facts has been contested by any side.

The motive for the trip, however, remains unconfirmed. By unofficial claims from sources close to the Montenegrin police, carried by Podgorica’s Vijesti, the group was supposed to informally provide security for Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during his stay at the summit. That information has not been officially confirmed. The same category of claims includes the assertion that the passengers mostly have criminal records, attributed to police sources via the media; neither the Serbian side nor the passengers themselves have confirmed it. The label “hybrid interference” is cited as a suspicion of police sources, not an official assessment. It also remains disputed whether the passengers were armed and who paid for the flight, questions raised by the Serbian opposition without a confirmed answer from Belgrade or Podgorica.

“Heightened controls are being carried out at the Tivat Airport border crossing, during which a charter flight on the Belgrade-Tivat route was separated and placed under control.”

That is part of the statement by the Police Directorate of Montenegro. Reactions from the Serbian opposition have been sharp. Borko Stefanovic, deputy leader of the Freedom and Justice Party, called the event “a scandal and a shame for Serbia,” adding that “it must be known who paid for the flight and whether they were armed.” Democratic Party leader Srdjan Milivojevic said that “Vucic sent a plane full of criminals to guard him,” which is a political assessment by the opposition rather than an established fact.

Will Belgrade and Podgorica give an official answer?

As of this article’s publication, official Belgrade, neither the Presidency nor the Government of Serbia, had given a confirmed response to the claims from Podgorica. There was also no confirmation of whether the case would have a diplomatic follow-up. On the Montenegrin side, the police statement stops at describing the check and the return of the passengers, without qualifying their intentions.

The timing is sensitive. The incident happened two days before a gathering at which Montenegro, as host, welcomes leaders of the European Union and the region, so any misunderstanding at the border takes on wider political meaning. For now, more questions remain than confirmed answers, and both capitals are silent about the background.

Do you expect Belgrade and Podgorica to officially clarify what happened at the Tivat airport?