The take-off accident that occurred a few days ago at Belgrade Airport resulted in Air Serbia immediately terminating its cooperation with wet lease partner Marathon Airlines. The Greeks now have to find alternative employment for several Embraer jets.

Some time ago, Marathon Airlines was able to land a long-term and comparatively extensive wet lease order from Air Serbia. Four aircraft were in use for the Serbian aviation company and two more were to be added in the summer of 2024. Nothing will come of this because Air Serbia has terminated the contracts without notice.

It now seems obvious that the passengers and crew members of the planned flight from Belgrade to Düsseldorf narrowly avoided disaster. The pilots accidentally chose the wrong taxiway on Sunday evening and were even warned by the ATC. Nevertheless, the launch was carried out, but there was significantly less runway available. The machine touched lighting equipment and was seriously damaged. The Embraer 195 then circled over Belgrade for around an hour to burn kerosene. The regional jet operated by Marathon Airlines then landed back at the Serbian capital airport. All inmates escaped with horror. The aviation authorities of Serbia and Greece have already launched investigations.

Without anticipating the reports: There is currently numerous evidence that the accident occurred due to pilot error. What may make things more difficult is that air traffic control recognized this and explicitly warned the pilots, but it was ignored. So it could have been a “luck in misfortune” because comparable incidents in the past did not end well.

From Air Serbia's perspective, the emergency brake was pulled because, according to the company's statement, Marathon Airlines had been informed that the cooperation would be terminated with immediate effect. It was actually agreed that a total of six Embraer jets would be operated on behalf of the Serbian aviation company in the 2024 summer flight schedule. It is possible that mutual legal disputes could now follow, as it is to be expected that Air Serbia could claim the loss of reputation and, conversely, Marathon Airlines could claim the loss of earnings resulting from the termination without notice.

Regardless: The accident is extremely problematic for Marathon Airlines because the plane involved is badly damaged and its own reputation is now severely damaged. There is no longer any employment for the remaining aircraft that were intended for the Air Serbia wet lease order. It is possible that these can be accommodated elsewhere, but the tarnished reputation can be an obstacle to big carriers getting involved in a cooperation.