Potential risks when flying with Air Serbia this summer: lost luggage, delays, queues.

In Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, which is the hub of national airline Air Serbia, it has been an incredibly difficult summer due to a surge in air traffic in recent weeks and serious staff shortages. Italian passengers have drawn attention to this situation, as Air Serbia operates flights from Belgrade to nine cities in Italy: Bari, Bologna, Catania, Florence, Milan, Naples, Palermo, Rome and Venice, in some cases with more than one daily flight. The Italian market is for the Serbian carrier the second largest in Europe after the German one.

The website viewfromthewing.com reports that some, desperate, have even gone to the police to report the theft of their luggage after long waits and some have even returned to Belgrade to retrieve their suitcases. Dozens of people have shared their stories on Reddit, and hundreds have joined in less than a week a Facebook group made up of travelers arriving or transiting through Belgrade and missing items.

The issue even reached the government level, as Transportation Minister Goran Vesic spoke out sharply against the group that runs the country's main airport, Vinci Corporation, demanding compliance. A coordinating committee, including the Minister himself, representatives of airports and commercial aviation in Serbia, and representatives of Vinci Corporation, meets every morning at 8 o'clock to reduce inconvenience to passengers. Vinci Corporation itself is hiring about a hundred additional employees, while the government has issued a tender to hire two more processing operators to operate at Nikola Tesla Airport, along with the operator that has so far handled baggage, and has increased the number of passport control points.

"They (Vinci) knew that Air Serbia would add 22 new flights to its network this summer, increasing operations by 40%.

• The Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade has experienced congestion and staff shortages.
• Italian passengers, especially those flying with Air Serbia to Italy, have experienced this problem.
• Many travelers have reported lost and stolen luggage, as well as missing items.
• The Secretary of Transportation is demanding compliance from the airport management company.
• The Vincy Corporation hires additional employees and increases the number of passport checkpoints.