Infrastructure Minister Milutin Mrkonjic announced that a new airline, which will take over the role of Serbia's national airline from Jat Airways, will be founded in the near future.

"We are in the final stages of establishing a new company. The basic idea is to keep Jat in business and the state still wants to have its own airline," the minister told reporters at the National Bank of Serbia.

The minister said the government is trying to find a partner who would purchase a share in Jat Airways.

"If we are able to come to an agreement with someone who wants to buy a part of Jat, we will do so. If not, we will own the whole airline. One thing is certain - Serbia will have its own airline," Mrkonjic explained.

Speaking about Belgrade's Nikola Tesla Airport, Mrkonjic said that the government still has not discussed whether to privatize the company.

"The airport operates with a sizable profit, which flows into the state budget. The airport is a profitable and successful company with profits of some RSD 1.5 billion or EUR 15 million," the infrastructure minister noted.