Iran Air plans Belgrade resumption in late November

Iran Air is likely to resume operations between Tehran and Belgrade in late November, following a temporary suspension. The airline, which initially scheduled flights between the two cities for the entire winter season, discontinued ticket sales for the route on the day the two countries reintroduced visa requirements for each others' nationals. However, the Iranian carrier has since filed for a permit with the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate to operate two weekly flights between the two capitals as of November 24. If the service goes ahead as scheduled, it will run each Tuesday afternoon / evening and Saturday morning. Iran Air operated its last flight between the two cities last Saturday, prior to the hiatus.

More than 15.000 Iranians have visited Serbia since visas were abolished last August. However, being the only European country to allow visa-free entry for Iranian passport holders and one of only a handful in the world, Serbia responded to European Union pressure after the system was abused by migrants trying to reach the bloc. The Iranian flag carrier resumed operations to Belgrade in early March following a 27-year hiatus. It utilised its Airbus A320 aircraft on the route, and upped capacity during peak travel periods to its 260-seat twin-aisle Airbus A300-600 aircraft.

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport has secured a number of new flights for the upcoming winter season, which begins this Sunday. Austrian Airlines, Aeroflot, Belavia, easyJet, LOT, Norwegian Air Shuttle, TAROM and Transavia will all introduce additional frequencies this winter when compared to last. Aeroflot will add a third daily service to Belgrade for a total of 21 weekly flights, LOT Polish Airlines will boost operations, from daily last winter, to ten weekly starting October 28, while Belavia will maintain its third weekly service from Minsk to Belgrade launched this summer (two via Budapest and one nonstop). Austrian Airlines and TAROM will introduce an extra weekly service to the Serbian capital for a total of nineteen from Vienna and nine flights per week from Bucharest. Russia's Red Wings Airlines, which introduced flights from Moscow to Belgrade this summer, will continue flying to the Serbian capital this winter four times per week. Air Serbia will increase its frequencies to Zurich with an additional three weekly services for a total of seventeen, add an extra weekly rotation to Stockholm for a total of four per week and upgrade its seasonal Larnaca service to year-round operations. Furthermore, Etihad Airways will add a second daily flight between the two cities from mid-December to mid-January, while Egypt's AlMasria Universal Airlines, which has been operating two weekly flights between the holiday resort town of Hurghada and Belgrade with its Airbus A330-200 aircraft throughout the summer, has upgraded the service to year-round operations.

Low cost airlines will also be adding frequencies. easyJet will maintain all three of its routes to Belgrade - Geneva, Basel and Berlin - on a year-round basis, with the latter two to be operated for the first time. Furthermore, Transavia will run five weekly services between Amsterdam and Belgrade for the entire season, whereas additional flights were introduced last winter from February onwards. Norwegian Air Shuttle plans to boost its frequencies from Oslo to Belgrade from two to three per week, while it will also maintain its Stockholm service throughout the winter with one weekly flight. On the other hand, Flydubai will decrease its flight offering from daily to five weekly.