Air Serbia prepares for China launch

Air Serbia will launch operations to Tianjin as its first destination in China in just under a month’s time with ticket sales having commenced just a week ago. The Director General of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Tianjin Municipality, Luan Jianzhang, notes that preparations are underway on both sides in order to make the new route a success. “All preparations are progressing in an orderly manner. Tianjin attaches great importance to the opening of nonstop flights with Serbia. We began talks with Serbia’s national airline back in April and since then various stakeholders have been involved and are coordinating with each other for the successful launch of this route, including the airport, the transportation commission, health commission and other relevant departments. We will make full use of all the resources at our disposal to promote the service between Tianjin and Belgrade”, Mr Jianzhang said.

The new flights will have to adhere to China’s strict Covid policies. According to Chinese media, Air Serbia will be able to carry up to 187 passengers on flights departing Belgrade. The airline is restricted to a one weekly service, which has resulted in its plane spending over 24 hours upon arrival in Tianjin, in order to enable minimum rest for crew to operate the return service. “The ground time that Air Serbia aircraft will be spending in Tianjin is not optimal and comes as the result of a combination of various Covid-19 restrictions still in place. We will continue to work to improve that in the future, whenever such an option becomes available", Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, said.

China is working on plans to scrap a system that penalises airlines for bringing virus cases into the country. Furthermore, officials are debating whether to reduce the amount of time people coming to China must spend in mandatory quarantine. Bureaucrats are looking at cutting the period to two days in a hotel and then five days at home. That’s down from ten days of isolation on entry into the country, which includes a week confined to a hotel room. An unverified screenshot circulating on social media claiming a broad reopening plan was being considered sparked a $450 billion speculative rally in stock markets this week. Airlines are also said to be counting on China’s reopening early next year and an unprecedented surge in demand.

Air Serbia has said it will use new opportunities once China reopens. “We have much bigger plans once Covid restrictions are lifted in China. We are planning at least two weekly flights to Beijing and two to Shanghai with the possibility of increasing the frequency to three weekly and also serving Tianjin depending on the results”, Air Serbia’s CEO said recently. Meanwhile, the carrier’s cabin crew members are undergoing training in order for all of them to be able to work on the wide-body A330 aircraft. After batches of crew underwent several days of training in Belgrade, many are now headed for a final day of preparations in Istanbul. It comes as the airline is strongly considering the lease of a third A330 next year.

The Serbian carrier is launching its first service to China in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year in late January, which generates significant demand for travel to the country. Due to quarantine policies, many Chinese nationals will be making the trip to their homeland early on. Global Reservation Systems indicate that Air Serbia’s service from Belgrade to Tianjin on January 6 is sold out at this point. It should be noted that only Chinese nationals and residents can currently enter China. Authorities have indicated that foreigners taking part in various trade shows next year will be able to enter the country without undergoing quarantine procedures.