Ilija Kukobat, PhD
Institute for Contemporary History, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia

AIR TRANSPORT BETWEEN YUGOSLAVIA AND THE SOVIET UNION 1946–1992

Vol. XLIV, 1/2026, pp. 231–250
https://doi.org/10.29362/ist20veka.2026.1.kuk.231-250

ABSTRACT/RESUME:

Air transport between Yugoslavia and the USSR was generally a reflection of Yugoslav-Soviet relations during the Cold War, with some exceptions. It was established in 1946, when Aeroflot introduced a service between Moscow and Belgrade via Kiev, Lviv and Budapest, as well as a separate service to Tirana. The following year, a joint Yugoslav-Soviet Civil Aviation Company (YUSTA) was established, which operated Soviet passenger and cargo aircraft on domestic and international flights. Despite this co-operation, only Aeroflot connected the two countries and there was no air transport agreement. Instead, the Soviet embassy in Belgrade applied for permits for Aeroflot flights to Belgrade and Tirana for a set period. These authorisations were granted by the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Cominform Resolution of 1948 and the disputes between Yugoslavia and the rest of the Eastern Bloc did not hinder Aeroflot flights. On the contrary, negotiations on an air transport agreement were held in 1949 but were cancelled due to differences of opinion between the two parties. Until the beginning of 1953, the Yugoslav authorities issued Aeroflot with monthly and seasonal flight permits for flights to Tirana. After that, they were issued for every flight until they were completely discontinued on 28 April. In October, new negotiations on the air transport agreement began, but were broken off again. The Soviets tried to raise the question again in the course of 1954, but without success. In January 1955, overflights of their aircraft to Tirana over Yugoslavia were permitted, and an air transport agreement was finally signed on 3 September 1955. On 29 November of the same year, Aeroflot resumed its flights to Belgrade. The agreement was later amended several times to allow flights on routes other than Moscow to Belgrade. On 5 August 1965, Yugoslav Airlines (JAT, the country’s principal air carrier) flew from Belgrade to Moscow via Warsaw for the first time. In the following years, JAT and Aeroflot connected Belgrade, Ljubljana, Dubrovnik, Split and Zagreb with Moscow, Kiev and Leningrad. Other Yugoslav carriers (Inex-Adria and Aviogenex) operated occasional flights, with Adria opening a regular service between Ljubljana and Moscow in the 1980s. A new agreement on air services was signed in 1990. In 1992, air services between Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union were suspended due to international sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and resumed in 1994. Another form of co-operation between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union in the field of air transport was the use of Soviet-designed passenger aircraft in Yugoslavia. These were the Lisunov Li-2 (YUSTA), the Ilyushin Il-14 (JAT) and the Tupolev Tu-134 (Aviogenex). The most successful was the Tupolev, which was used by Aviogenex from 1969 to 1990, with the manufacturer even adapting the design to Yugoslav requirements. However, Yugoslav carriers were generally reluctant to use Soviet aircraft as they were far less profitable than their Western counterparts.

KEYWORDS: Yugoslavia, Soviet Union, aviation, air transport, Yugoslav Airlines (JAT), YUSTA, Aeroflot

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AIR TRANSPORT BETWEEN YUGOSLAVIA AND THE SOVIET UNION 1946–1992