AnadoluJet and Nordwind plan new Belgrade routes

Turkish Airlines’ lower cost unit Anadolujet and Russia’s Nordwind Airlines plan to introduce new flights to the Serbian capital. Anadolujet intends on launching a two weekly service from Ankara to Belgrade starting June 24, each Thursday and Sunday. Although it was unsuccessful in gaining regulatory approval to commence flights between Antalya and Belgrade, EX-YU Aviation News learns the new service from the Turkish capital will get the go-ahead from the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate. Anadolujet has a major base in Ankara with forty year-round routes and a further nineteen seasonal destinations. Flights are yet to be put on sale, however, the service is expected to operate in the afternoon, with a 14.00 CEST arrival into Belgrade on the Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Russia’s Nordwind Airlines plans to introduce its second destination from Belgrade after Moscow. The carrier intends on launching services from St Petersburg. Based on the filed schedule, the airline would run the flights once per week, each Sunday, as soon as it is granted regulatory approval. However, it is questionable whether the Russian carrier will receive a permit from the Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate under a stringent bilateral air service agreement between the two countries, which recently saw S7 Airlines knocked back from launching operations to the Serbian capital. The three-hour flight would depart St Petersburg just after midday, arriving in Belgrade at 14.20 CEST.

The Turkish capital has not been served from Belgrade up until now. At one point, Qatar Airways maintained its flights from Doha to Belgrade via Ankara, however, it did not have fifth freedom rights to sell tickets between the two cities. In the pre-pandemic 2019, a total of 10.787 passengers flew between the two based on OAG data, while the figure stood at 4.078 in 2020. Turkey and Serbia have launched a “Safe Travel Corridor” for Covid-19 vaccinated passengers, with vaccination certificates recognised by the two countries. Those that have received both jabs can travel freely between the two without any restrictions or PCR test requirements. Those under eighteen that have not been vaccinated are also free to travel. On the other hand, St Petersburg has the largest volume of indirect traffic between Belgrade and Russia, despite being served seasonally by Air Serbia. In 2019, 11.654 passengers travelled indirectly between the two cities. Air Serbia will restore operations to Russia’s second largest city from June 8 with a two weekly service.

Belgrade Airport has seen a number of carriers launch new operations this year. So far they include Nordwind Airlines, Air Serbia, Wizz Air, SkyUp Airlines and KLM, with Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Luxair, Aegean Airlines and Eurowings to follow. During the January - April period, Nikola Tesla Airport saw its passenger numbers decline 27.8% compared to 2020 or 51.1% compared to same period during the pre-pandemic 2019.