Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that the national flag carrier Air Serbia could be successful even without state subsidies, even though it is difficult to do business in the world’s airline industry.

He told reporters on Tuesday that he was sure that, excluding long-distance flights, the company “has positive business results already.”

There are unconfirmed reports that Air Serbia’s minority stakeholder Etihad Airways of Dubai plans to exit the joint venture in which it holds 49 percent, with the rest owned by Serbia.

According to a report by the independent production Insajder, Air Serbia had received €159.5 million in state subsides over the last three years, without which it would seem that Air Serbia was actually suffering losses.

Belgrade officials have denied reports about Etihad leaving Air Serbia, saying that Etihad does not have a reason for the move since the company is doing well.

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