The 2020 summer season is due to begin this Sunday, which traditionally ushers in a number of new routes. However, as the coronavirus Covid-19 health crisis worsens around Europe, airlines have either cancelled or delayed their operations due to begin in late March, April and May. The Ryanair group, which includes Austria’s Lauda, has inflicted the largest number of cancellations, after announcing it was postponing the opening of its Zadar base until 2021. The Group’s CEO, Michael O’Leary said, “At this time, no one knows how long this Covid shutdown will last. The experience in China suggests a three-month period for the spread of the virus to be contained and reduced. We do not expect to operate flights during the months of April and May at this time, but this will clearly depend upon government advice, and we will in all cases comply with these instructions”. Ryanair still has some routes scheduled to begin in May, although these will likely be deferred as well.
| Route | Original date | New date |
|---|---|---|
| Vienna - Zadar (Austrian) | MAR 29 | APR 20 |
| Vienna - Dubrovnik | MAR 29 | MAY 03 |
| Vienna - Zadar (Lauda) | MAR 30 | MAY 01 |
| Paris - Dubrovnik | MAR 30 | MAY 01 |
| London Luton - Ljubljana | MAR 30 | APR 06 |
| Poznan - Podgorica | MAR 30 | MAY 04 |
| Gdansk - Zadar | MAR 31 | CANCELLED |
| Kraljevo - Thessaloniki | MAR 31 | MAY 02 |
| Stockholm - Tivat | APR 01 | MAY 06 |
| Dublin - Podgorica | APR 02 | MAY 03 |
| Vienna - Banja Luka | APR 03 | MAY 01 |
| Hahn - Rijeka | APR 04 | MAY 02 |
| Paris Orly - Pula | APR 04 | MAY 09 |
| Nantes - Dubrovnik | APR 11 | APR 22 |
| Athens - Split | APR 19 | APR 22 |
| Brussels - Pula | APR 25 | MAY 02 |
Air Serbia has tentatively scheduled its resumption of service for April 13, although it is likely to postpone. The carrier was to launch services between Kraljevo and Thessaloniki on March 31, however, the route has now been moved for May 2. Croatia Airlines, which was due to commence two new services from Zagreb during the first week of May, has postponed its inaugural flights to Sofia and Podgorica for June 1 and June 2 respectively. Qatar Airways has also delayed the launch of its seasonal new service between Doha and Dubrovnik from May 18 to July 1.
| Route | Original date | New date |
|---|---|---|
| Zagreb - Sofia | MAY 01 | JUN 01 |
| Wroclaw - Zadar | MAY 01 | CANCELLED |
| Vilnius - Dubrovnik | MAY 02 | JUN 02 |
| Zadar - Riga | MAY 03 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Cork | MAY 03 | CANCELLED |
| Zagreb - Podgorica | MAY 03 | JUN 02 |
| Beuvais - Zadar | MAY 06 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Kaunas | MAY 06 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Bremen | MAY 07 | CANCELLED |
| Vilnius - Rijeka | MAY 07 | JUN 04 |
| Zadar - Liverpool | MAY 10 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Maastricht | MAY 11 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Aarhus | MAY 15 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Hamburg | MAY 15 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Toulouse | MAY 16 | CANCELLED |
| Doha - Dubrovnik | MAY 18 | JUL 01 |
The dates listed in the article concerning new launch dates originally scheduled for March, April and May are correct as of this morning, March 25. With airlines modifying their schedules on a near daily basis, some are likely to change over time.
I work at BEG and I heard AS won't be given up on all new routes it wanted to launch. Let's see what happens in the end.
ReplyDeleteAny dates about Air Serbia's new routes?
DeleteThey were anyhow planned for June, weren't they?
DeleteAfter all nobody should say a single word now about financial support GoS will provide to JU
@9.08
DeleteThey are still scheduled on the same dates in June.
For me the biggest surprise is that EW has not given up on resuming STR-BEG, flights are in the system from 21.05. I guess advance bookings must have been super strong.
Deleteyeh super strong ^^
DeleteWhy would you be skeptical? They are in really bad shape so if they are keeping BEG it must mean advance bookings are fantastic.
Deletesuper strong and fantastic , you find the right words each time
DeleteSad about ZAD but at least all the other routes are still going ahead. They are just delayed.
ReplyDeleteAt the time being.
DeleteInteresting that KVO-SKG was moved to 02.05. I guess that's when the government expects the situation to be put under control. Hopefully we get more movement at BEG also soon.
ReplyDeleteThey are still selling the BEG tickets from 13.4.
DeleteThat's the way how to earn the money. Everybody is informed about the current situation and aware of the risk of buying the ticket.
DeleteIf JU can't fly after 13.4 the flight will be rescheduled FOC. Simple as that
The government will most likely allow some flights to resume in April as it will cost them so much money to keep JU grounded. I think some flights to key destinations might resume like London, Amsterdam, Paris and Moscow.
DeleteAir Serbia is the most important part of ex-YU aviation. Not only is it the biggest airline out there but it's also the one that not only connects BEG and Serbia to the world but it also links the whole region in the world. Look at its importance in places like BNX, LJU or all of Montenegro? Air Serbia is growing and its demise would negatively affect the whole region. It's in all of our interest to support them and hope for their swift recovery.
DeleteAgree with last anon.
DeleteJust to add something, just like Sweden and Denmark have consolidated their aviation market around SK or how Austria, Germany and Switzerland have done so through LH Group, maybe it's time for ex-YU to do the same and encourage JU to grow and help in improving connectivity even more than it is the case now. This is especially the case with markets like Slovenia or Bosnia that do not have a national carrier.
DeleteOne word: politics.
DeletePolitics or not business seems to be developping quite nicely and all republics have accepted JU. I mean they are currently the busiest foreign airline in Slovenia, who would have thought! Look at their network in Croatia and I am sure they would have more flights to SJJ if they didn't close the airport. Even in Albania they are doing well with double daily flights planned
DeleteWould love to see them more intra ex-YU routes besides INI-LJU and INI-TIV. Would be cool to get SKP-LJU and SKP-TIV in summer.
DeleteFor these ex-yu flights extra permission would be needed.
DeleteAnd we have already the experience that due to purely political reasons JU did not get permission to fly chartes from OSI despite the fact it would be win-win combination for all.
But why wouldn't they get a permit to operate SKP-TIV for example? YM doesn't seem interested.
DeleteUnfortunately, I think some of the dates are too optimistic.
ReplyDeleteSame here :( especially the April ones.
DeleteWell the US has announced they will be "open for business" by Easter. So let's see what happens in Europe.
DeleteWell according to some experts here in Slovenia, they have developed a model where they believe the epidemic could be over by mid April
Deletehttps://www.delo.si/images/slike/2020/03/24/2742892.jpg
US can say whatever they want, but with the current rise of number of infected, they are just about to get hit. Unless they decide to let the virus sweep over them and who survives - survives.
DeleteDon't you get it that the virus can start spreading just like that again once we remove the movement restrictions? You think we will just became immune to the virus after few months of it going around?
DeleteAnd what do you suggest? We all commit suicide so virus can no longer spread?
DeleteThe Ryanair flights in May won't happen.
ReplyDeleteBut at least this shows which routes will be rescheduled and which will be cancelled.
DeleteTrue pity about ZAD though.
DeleteDamn, it would have been a good summer season. Now it will be a disaster.
ReplyDeletePart of it will be salvaged and I assume it will be a very busy winter. Many events, meetings and conferences have been put of for the second part of the year. Many people have defferred planned travel to the second half of the year or fourth quarter. So I imagine that many airlines (the ones that survive) will be having a much busier winter than usual.
DeleteThe dates are very optimistic. Do you guys understand that is impossible to go from total lockdown to free movement and people gathering the next day? There will certainly be a graduated path to get back to what was normal. In Italy very probably the first mass gatherings (for a football match for example) will happen in autumn. So get real.
ReplyDeleteWhy do we need to get real? You do realize that after a lock down period people will be willing to travel more than ever before, many from diaspora will rush to visit their homelands. A lot of them will use planes for that. Also, what about business demand and other things as well. No one said it will be like before but gradual normalization WILL take place.
DeleteYou get real.
Exactly. Gradual normalization. Gradual. But that, in my opinion, doesn't mean that the airports will be full of people this summer. We will definitely travel less this summer. And let's hope we do travel, in the end. So this is the idea of getting real.
DeletePeople will be willing to travel, no doubt. But the big question is how it will happened. This summer? Don't think so.
Oh yeah. Another little detail. Do you think that countries like Italy who is struggling a lot right now, will just open the borders for tourists this summer?
DeleteFirst, I can expect that, mobility might be “discouraged” for a while since the situations of recovery might be very different from country to country. I can see the rule, everyone is welcome but first 14 days of stay must be self-isolation, being around for some time in some places. Just to prevent as little “imported” new infection as possible.
DeleteSecond, there will be economic impact on income of people, this might especially effect tourist industry. Economic uncertainty might last much longer then the “corona time” and this could be strong factor in our “future” behaviour.
Well from what I can see most routes up there are not from extremely impacted countries like Italy or Spain.
DeleteYou have to wait. Don't forget that Italy is some three weeks ahead. I hope other countries won't suffer the same impact.
DeleteYUTA has issued a statement saying that tour operators should not refund people who already paid for their summer holidays. That means most of those who already paid will eventually travel to places where travel restrictions have been lifted. Though I am sure popular destinations for Serbs like Tunis, Egypt, Greece and Turkey will be open for business this summer.
DeleteOriginal anonymous is 100% on point. Things won't get back to normal in next few months minimum.
DeleteNo one said they will.
DeleteGuys I understand that this thing for you is difficult to understand, but believe me, since I live in Italy I know what I am talking about. The most important thing now and in the next months is to be safe. Summer holidays? Honestly I don't care.
DeleteSo just because you don't care means no one else cares as well? Also the situation in Italy is getting so bad because Italians are not taking it seriously.
DeleteAnd because of that, the situation won't go back to normal in a very long time.
DeleteI don't know why people don't use their heads. After all this sh.t with Corona the summer season is gone, at least vast majority of it. Who is going to travel if not really necessary? People are scared. So the traffic will gradually come back but this whole year is pretty much screwed. Simple as that.
DeleteYou are going in circle repeating the same thing over and over again. No one said that the situation will go back to normal the next day. However flights will start resuming quite soon, initially there will be more offer than demand but by summer things will improve.
DeleteHow do you know the flights will start resuming quite soon? What is "quite soon"?
DeleteIn the next two months, they will start resuming slowly slowly.
DeleteWell, let's wait and see. Summer 2020 is screwed.
Delete"Italians are not taking it seriously"? Do you live here? It's a pity I can't show you how do we live.
Thanks for the update. I was wondering which routes have been postponed and which actually cancelled.
ReplyDeleteCheck wikipedia articile for all airports. I'm update every day :)
DeleteI see Russia's Red Wings has moved DME-BEG flights to 01.05.2020. They are set to operate four weekly flights.
ReplyDeleteGoS will have a huge debt to pay for AS to recover.
ReplyDeleteAS was growing so well, but it will most certainly freeze all new routes and retract to a basic airline, flying regular routes and surving in a sea of turbulence for at least 1+ years.
Aviation is hit hard, like never in history, so there is no room for romantic dreamers of a “back to business by easter” mumbo jumbo...
Serbia is unfortunately not an economic business hub, so AS will suffer like all other airlines, but will not be able to relly on leasure travellers like it did before Covid-19 filling its planes and routes.
"AS was growing so well, but it will most certainly freeze all new routes and retract to a basic airline, flying regular routes and surving in a sea of turbulence for at least 1+ years."
DeletePlease continue to impress us with your clairvoyance. What else does the crystal ball say?
If there are airlines that will suffer more than the others after this is over, it will be airlines in countries dependent on inbound tourism, like Italy or Croatia. Air Serbia was already doing much better than those basic airlines in the region and will obviously do much better than them once this is over.
DeleteVlad, your views in the US would be defined as a “homer view”, that is you will not accept anything other than unconditional praise for AS and that it will recover immediately above all other Airlines. I am a Serb and I can say with the utmost certainty that Air Serbia will suffer incredibly, as will OU and Alitalia, period. Those are facts, the rest is emotions.
DeleteIt's not that JU, AZ and OU will all suffer, it's which one will quickly rebound and gain most advantage after this pandemic is over. Warren Buffet just invested $45M in Delta, he thinks they will do better than others coming out of this. In this region, I placed my bet on Air Serbia.
DeleteDear all, I understand most of the aviation enthusiast, but I have to stand on few pesimistic or better said realistic comments here: it is not only that measures will be lifted very slowly and carefully, but you have to bear in mind that the whole crisis has enormous, yet unknown impact on the economy, major loss of jobs and personal income, people without jobs will struggle to bearly survive and not think about holidays, vacations, travelling, visiting, ... So the last thing they will afford is paying for air travel. By my opinion, initial months majority of pax will be business travellers flying with state subsidized "state" air operators. No low cost carrier will most probably get any state help as opposed to "national" carriers, where state help in EU will be definitely allowed for some time.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
DeleteAviation survived the economic meltdown in 2008 and this will be no different. Only thing that changed is that some airlines like JU adapted and fixed their costs to face these new, challenging times ahead of them.
DeleteDid you really compare the economic crisis if 2008 when most of people still had jobs and the companies were in business?
ReplyDelete