I piloti di Air Serbia descrivono l’evacuazione di Beirut come uno dei voli più impegnativi della loro carriera

>**Air Serbia’s plane returned 85 adult passengers and three babies from Beirut to Belgrade. Captain Nemanja Janjatovic and Airbus examiner Goran Nizic piloted the aircraft. They told RTS that the flight was one of the most challenging in their careers. They noted that passengers said they had been eagerly waiting to see them and hear the Serbian language when boarding the plane.**

>In the photograph that has traveled around the world in recent days, the Air Serbia plane is seen flying over Beirut’s sky, shrouded in smoke from bombs falling on the Lebanese capital. Onboard the national airline’s aircraft were Serbian citizens and their family members, evacuated from the war zone, RTS reports.

>Captain Nemanja Janjatovic, speaking on RTS’s Morning Program, said that bringing passengers back from Lebanon was the toughest moment of his career, recalling other difficult flights during the coronavirus and from Tel Aviv.

>Speaking about landing, Janjatovic said that Air Serbia has not had a regular line to Beirut for years.

>„It is an old route, we are experienced with it, and we knew the airport well. We operate highly sophisticated machines, and the procedures in our job are complex, so we cannot rely on whether we know the airport or not,“ Janjatovic pointed out.

>When asked how the crew felt, Janjatovic said they were primarily focused on the safety of the plane, crew, and passengers.

>„We respond promptly based on the information we receive in real-time,“ said the captain.

>Passengers were not scared

>Goran Nizic told RTS that the passengers were not scared during the flight because Air Serbia fosters a „homely atmosphere.“

>„Upon entering the plane, if you didn’t know it was a repatriation flight, it would have seemed normal, with a relaxed atmosphere and passengers saying they had been eagerly waiting to see us and hear the Serbian language,“ Nizic said.

>According to him, after landing in Surcin, they first saw their colleagues and then contacted their families, who already knew the plane had returned safely.

>„The photograph that traveled around the world was striking, appearing both positive and terrifying. We are proud of the photo, the company, and that moment,“ Nizic said.

>He emphasized that preparing for a flight that needs to be organized in a short time for a major crisis zone is comprehensive.

>„Various government teams, the Civil Aviation Directorate, and diplomatic-consular representations worldwide are involved in organizing the flight. It is a task assigned to the company to be executed in the shortest time possible,“ explained Nizic.

ngl it seems a little weird to be longing after hearing someone speak Serbian when you are one of 85 Serbs waiting for the same plane.