Nije bilo vreve, hodnici su bili tihi i mračni i samo je pokoji radnik Aerodroma Nikola Tesla bio tu da nas isprati na dalek put There was no bustle of travellers, the halls were quiet and dark, with only the odd worker of Nikola Tesla Airport there to send us off on our distant journey
AIR SERBIA AND HEROES FROM THE SHADOWS
I will forever remember the silence in the air that lasted for almost six hours on the way back from Abu Dhabi, where we brought our citizens back from, as well as the sad picture of hundreds of passenger aircraft parked on the runways, bays and platforms of that great airport. I'LL NEVER FORGET THE EERILY EMPTY SKY I MADE MY FIRST FLIGHT AFTER THE LOCKDOWN HAD STARTED AT THE END OF MARCH 2020. It was a repatriation flight that saw us bring back to Belgrade 134 of our citizens from Abu Dhabi. And now, eight mont- hs on, the empty sky above southern Europe, Turkey and Iran remains vivid in my memory. That feeling as I passed through an eerily empty Belgrade airport to planes that were ready for long flights to China was completely new and a little scary. There was no bustle of travellers, the halls were quiet and dark, with only the odd worker of Nikola Te- sla Airport there to send us off on our distant journey. I flew to China three times, with flights that were both mentally and physically demanding. Of course, thanks to the logistical support of the entire company, the effort of my fellow pilots and the ground staff, these flights were performed without a single mistake and remain as a fantastic reminder of this difficult time
Dušan Milatović (desno) sa kolegom Draganom Vujinom na letu u UAE Dušan Milatović (right) with his colleague Dragan Vujin on a flight to the UAE
that, I hope, is slowly being left behind us. At no point was I afraid for my family or for myse- lf. We followed the measures prescribed by the industry and the company, and there really was no fear. At the same time, I didn‘t really view what I was doing as be- ing very important. It was our job. To help society and the state to cope with the pandemic, which was in full swing at that time, as well as being as prepared as possible. I didn‘t feel like a hero. For me the real heroes were do- ctors and all the medical staff who unselfishly engaged in the fight against what was then a great unknown and a virus that we knew so little about. Heroes also included all those “little” people around us, who ensured we had full shops, that pharmacies remained open and that we didn‘t feel for a moment as though everything around us has stopped. Of course, the struggle to return to the way life was before the Coronavirus pandemic is still continu- ing and won‘t be over soon, but I can already say that I‘m proud of the way our company struggled and fo- ught for all its employees. I‘m proud that it placed all of its capacities at the disposal of the state, in order to provide a full contribution to the fight against the pan- demic. I‘m proud of Serbia, Air Serbia, and the fact that I‘m a pilot.
I didn’t feel like a hero. For me the real heroes were doctors and all other medical staff heroj. Za mene su pravi heroji bili lekari i medicinsko osoblje Nisam se osećao kao
Air Serbia » Er Sbija | 49
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