Belgrade–Moscow Flight Turned Back Over Security Check; Vulin on Board

An Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Moscow was turned back on Tuesday evening, 3 November, after airport security services asked for additional checks on one passenger. Flight JU134, an Airbus A320, took off from Nikola Tesla Airport at 18:48 and was ordered back while over Lithuania, landing in Belgrade shortly after 22:00, according to N1 and Mondo.

What Air Serbia said

The airline said it received information from airport security services that required an extra check of one passenger and that the return followed those instructions and security rules. It stressed that passenger and baggage screening is the responsibility of the airport’s security system, and that its crew acted fully in line with procedures. It did not name the passenger.

Who was on board

Aleksandar Vulin, a former deputy prime minister and head of the Movement of Socialists, confirmed he was on the flight. Media reported that Srbijagas director Dušan Bajatović and Serbian People’s Party leader Nenad Popović were also aboard. Bajatović later said there were about 150 passengers, mostly Russian citizens, and that all of them and their luggage were checked again by police after landing.

Nova.rs, citing unofficial sources, reported that Vulin had boarded without passing the standard security check and that the return was ordered by the airport’s corporate security director, Milan Kuč. Nova also reported, citing sources at Vreme, that a prosecutor was waiting at the airport; Vulin denied this. Neither the police nor the prosecution had issued a statement by Wednesday morning, and it was not officially announced whether or when the flight continued to Moscow.

Vulin’s account

Speaking to TV Informer after midnight, Vulin rejected the reports as lies and described the episode as political score-settling by the new majority. He said that “everything was checked” and that nothing illegal was found on him. He said he was travelling to Moscow on official business to seek an extension of Serbia’s gas arrangement.

Aviation security expert Petar Vojinović told N1 that, if the reports are accurate, it would be a serious breach of security rules, since no passenger or bag may bypass screening, even a VIP.