VLM Slovenia plans Belgrade service

VLM Airlines plans to introduce services between Maribor and Belgrade this October, linking the two cities for the first time in over two decades. According to Belgrade Airport, flights are scheduled to commence in October and run five times per week, Monday through Friday. Although the Slovenian carrier itself is yet to confirm the new route launch, it has indicated its intention of starting operations to the Serbian capital on several occasions. VLM has noted that, "New routes for our winter schedule are coming soon". Belgrade Airport has listed slot requests for the new service as operating with a midday arrival, and a departure at 13.00 local time.

VLM Airlines has previously said that, in addition to Belgrade, it will eventually serve Berlin, Hamburg, London, Podgorica, Zurich, Xi'an, Chongqing and Nanchang. The carrier operated its first two seasonal routes out of its base in Maribor to Split and Dubrovnik during August and has been engaged in a number of charter flights from Italy to Croatia, Greece and Montenegro this summer. "We are already negotiating with some tour operators for the 2018 summer season, when you can expect a broader program with more frequencies. We are also trying to define our winter flight schedule which will begin on October 29. We will be revealing more shortly. With the Fokker 50 aircraft, we will continue operating ad hoc charters. Because of the aircraft's size, there is a lot of interest for such flights", the airline said. In addition to its three Fokker 50 turboptops, VLM intends on adding a jet-engine aircraft to its fleet during the fourth quarter. Fokker 70s, Airbus A320s and A330s are all expected to join the airline in the coming period.

Scheduled flights between Maribor and Belgrade have not operated since the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in 1992. Previously, JAT Yugoslav Airlines maintained services between the two cities, launching operations on May 26, 1976. At the time, flights to Maribor were primarily targeted at Yugoslav nationals living in southern Austria. Services between Slovenia and Serbia resumed in the early 2000s. The bilateral air agreement between the two countries at the time limited the national carriers of each nation to operating only one destination the other had not covered, with JAT introducing operations to Ljubljana and Adria commencing services to Pristina. Today, Air Serbia runs twelve weekly flights between the Serbian and Slovenian capitals. Last year, start-up airline AWEX Croatia secured a Swiss charter contract to operate services from Zurich to Belgrade via Portorož. Flights were maintained once per week with a 34-seat Saab 340B turboprop, however, the route was not resumed this year.