A Street Named after Tadija Sondermajer

In the year marking eighty five years since the foundation of the Aeroput company, Jat Airways has launched an initiative to name a street in Belgrade after Tadija Sondermajer, one of the founders and the director of Aeroput, whose legal successor after World War II was Yugoslav Airlines, now Jat Airways. On the occasion of the jubilee, members of the Sondermajer family, resident in Belgrade, were guests of Jat Airways General Director, Vladimir Ognjenovic.

This initiative comes on the 120th anniversary of the birth of this pioneer of Serbian and Yugoslav civil aviation, who was both a pilot and the first aeronautical engineer in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Tadija Sondermajer comes from a respectable Belgrade family. His father, Roman Sondermajer, was Polish. He came to Serbia in 1886 and was the first surgeon of the Serbian Army.

As a volunteer, Tadija participated in all the wars from 1912 to 1918. During World War I, Tadija joined the air force and was one of the two fighter-pilots who actively participated in the French Air Force on the Western Front. Tadija was one of the founders and the vice president of Aero Club. His greatest merit was the founding and subsequent successful management of Aeroput. This was preceded by another of Tadija's undertakings, namely flying a "Potez 25" plane from Paris to Mumbai and back to Belgrade. This trip took from April 20 to May 2, 1927.

Jat Airways launched this initiative in memory of Tadija Sondermajer's great work, which left an indelible mark on Serbian early 20th century history, especially in Belgrade, where Tadija was born and lived his entire life. For his services he was awarded the highest Serbian, Yugoslav, and French medals, including the Order of the Star of Karadjordje, the gold and silver medals for courage, the Albanian Memorial, the French War Cross, the Legion of Honor, and the Medal of the Officers' Order.

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