Air Serbia has temporarily suspended all scheduled flights as of today, following a decision by the Serbian government to close Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus Covid-19. The airline’s last scheduled service arrived from New York this morning. The carrier will today (crew pictured above) operate a special charter from Belgrade to Guangzhou via Shanghai with its wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which will bring medical supplies, as well as doctors from the country. A second charter service to China is planned next Monday.
In a statement, the airline said, “Due to the situation resulting from the coronavirus pandemic and the temporary suspension of all commercial international traffic, Air Serbia will temporarily suspend passenger transport. In the meantime, the Serbian national air carrier’s full resources are placed at the disposal of government authorities to support all activities that are required in the interest of the Republic of Serbia”. The airline is today operating a triangle Belgrade - Paris - Amsterdam service to bring back stranded passengers, with more rescue flights expected at short notice in the coming days.
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| Serbia daily traffic change (vs 2019) |
Air Serbia was expected to have a strong summer season this year, with the addition of four aircraft to its fleet and the launch of seven new routes. The carrier handled a record number of passengers during the first two months of the year, with key operational metrics improving compared to 2019. Air Serbia joins a growing list of carriers around the world which are temporarily discontinuing all commercial operations.
Good luck Air Serbia. I hope they pull through.
ReplyDeleteWhen does the flights to Shanghai leave?
ReplyDeleteJU 001 at 13.20 today.
DeleteThank you
Delete:(
ReplyDeleteIzadji iz svega jaca i bolja Air Serbia!
ReplyDeleteSo Serbia and Italy are the only countries so far to get direct aid from China?
ReplyDeleteCzech Republic has too.
DeleteBelgium as well.
DeleteBulgaria, too. I think most of Eastern Europe.
DeleteWhat help did these countries get?
DeleteI don't know about others but Belgium got 5 million masks. And another shipment is expected next week.
DeleteWhat about doctors? I know Italy got them.
DeleteCzech Republic is sending 6 planes to China. But I'm not sure if these are donations or if they actually purchased medical equipment from China (I think it's purchased).
DeletePoland got help from China as well. Most European countries are/will be getting help from China.
DeleteAlso EU as a whole got a big package of help from China but it was decided to send it all to Italy.
Even though many got material help, only Italy and Serbia have received Chinese doctors to help. Italy because of crisis and Serbia because of strong ties between the two countries. I expect this crisis to bring the two countries even closer. China has been a wonderful partner these past several years, especially in terms of infrastructure.
DeleteIn these dark times, such rays of sunlight gives us all hope. :)
DeleteNice to see there is still solidarity between the two people and that Chinese are standing by us. These flights to bring help are just a small part of it all.
http://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/450453/Kineski-narod-zeli-da-pomogne-Srbiji
That is bad news!
ReplyDeleteYeah it's bad news for the entire industry, unless you have been living under a rock.
DeleteCan someone explain to me how come QR was allowed to fly into Belgrade? Did they get a permit like TK to operate to bring stranded Serbs back home?
ReplyDeleteI don't see any QR flights.
DeleteIt's there of FR24
DeleteIt departed at 09.32 and is about to enter Greece.
DeleteThat QR flight has nothing to do with bringing Serbs back. It was a flight that departed Budapest this morning but was for some reason diverted to Belgrade. They quickly left BEG (within an hour and a half). It is possible that they evacuated Qatari citizens or that they had some mechanical issue.
DeleteThey have evacuated QR crew who was in Belgrade.
DeleteThe Serbian government should use Air Serbia planes to evacuate many people who are stuck around the world. I'm not talking about gasterbaiters who actually live and work in other countries, I'm talking about people living in Serbia who are currently abroad. Embassies are being inundated with calls, from far afield as New Zealand.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Many governments are finding ways to return their citizens. For now Serbian government hasn't done anything.
Delete+100
DeleteThis is twisting the truth, until yesterday AirSerbia was flying to couple of major hubs. There were also some special flights for people outside those hubs.
DeleteIt is not realistic to send instantly airplane for every single person that send message this morning. Those things have to be planned, people grouped at some points etc.
"There were also some special flights for people outside those hubs."
DeleteCan you tell me to where and when?
Government announced this morning that they are looking where to send planes to evacuate as many people as possible.
DeleteToday Serbia's national carrier, Air Serbia, will operate a triangle flight BEG-CDG-AMS to bring back stranded Serbian citizens.
DeleteDoes anyone know the LF for the last flight from JFK?
ReplyDeleteAbout 150 passengers.
DeleteStay strong JU! You have been through tougher times :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit surprised by that graph. Flights operations were holding up quite well until a few days ago.
ReplyDeleteU ovakom vremenu koje prezivljavaju ljudi u gotovo svim oblastima, pored medicine, putnicka avijacija i aerodromi prozivljavaju tesko vreme i velike tegobe...
ReplyDeleteOsobe koje u ovo vreme olajavaju nastojanja vlada i ljudi iz avijacije, jesu neljudi. Ne samo da nemaju razuma i znanja.
Vec ni oraza. Bezdusni su. Sirom sveta ih je mnogo. Pa ima ih i u Srbiji. Sve sto se moze reci jeste:
Zivela Srbija. Bolesna i zdrava. Pala i ustala!
Ne zaboravite da vas voli i pozdravlja Rodney Marinkovic and Aviation Enthusiast Group.
U dobru i u zlu. Na aerodromima i u vazduhu u podnebesju Gospodnjem.
Rodney Marinkovic Kings Park Sydney Australia. 🛫🇦🇺🛫🇷🇸🛫😀🛫❤🛫
I must say I was quite confused by their flight cancellation email. On their website it says that the cancellation emails would have a link from where you could choose what option to take, and that one of the options would be to get a refund. But the email I got has no links, doesn't mention refund as an option and is written quite hastily.
ReplyDeleteI understand the difficult circumstances, but they should be used as an opportunity to give your passengers clarity and thus keep their trust and loyalty for the future.
I agree. The website says you are entitled to a refund, but the email I received says you have to call them and they will reschedule you.
DeleteRIP aviation
ReplyDeleteYesterday Air Canada announced that they will fire half of their cabin crew among which are all of those working for Rouge!!
DeleteYU-ARA took of at 2pm. Anybody knows where?
ReplyDeleteRead the article... it literally says it in the title too.
DeleteSrbija je iznajmila i Antonov za kargo prevoz da bi se što pre dopremila neophodna sredstva. Kinezi su nam mnogo medicinske i zaštitne opreme donirali, takođe smo mnogo i kupili. Toliko robe ima da bi A330 morao da obavi 40 povratnih letova. Prvi teret sa A330 je donacija predsednika Kine. Sa njim će sleteti i grupa kineskih lekara koji će pomoći našim lekarima
ReplyDeleteI bought some tickets through consolidator site (Scansaver), now they are not answering any calls / mails anymore after our flights were cancelled by the airline. The airline refers us to the agency while those shut off their doors completely. Over 2000E lost in space! DO NOT purchase tickets online from various agencies, only directly from the airlines. НАРАВОУЧЕНИЈЕ!
ReplyDeleteExactly, because of similar experiences I stopped buying them from agencies. From the airline website is the safest and best way to do it.
DeleteAeroflot is operating normally the afternoon flight, I suppose they are taking Russian citizens out of the country before the worst hits Serbia
ReplyDeleteSuch comments make me feel pain simply because it reminds me of where we were supposed to be right now. Serbian aviation was supposed to be in turbo mode right now but in stead our beautiful planes are sitting idle, collecting dust. I hope things will return to where we were some time ago, before this dark chapter of our lives started.
DeleteGood social distancing in that photo!!!
ReplyDeleteCome on Air Serbia we wish you the Best!
ReplyDelete