National flag carrier Air Serbia is enjoying a record rise in direct flights across EU airspace to Russia following the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
The Belgrade-based carrier is operating 17 weekly flights, of which six are 252-seat A330-200s, according to global air tracking service Flightradar24. On Wednesdays a double daily service is scheduled from the capital city’s hub.
Exploiting a loophole in the EU-wide ban on Russian aircraft and airlines using its airspace, non-member Serbia has refused to impose trade sanctions against the Kremlin and is currently free to operate the services.
According to travel analytics company ForwardKeys the gateway is “the only European air corridor left open to Russia”. It reports a record 50% increase in seat capacity was scheduled for the first few weeks of March and, within a week of the invasion, tickets issued from Russia for onward travel via Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport surged 60%.
Olivier Ponti, VP Insights, ForwardKeys noted the speed at which Serbia became the shortest air link between Russia and Europe but cautioned that the global political and economic crisis would be impacted by the development of the war and sanctions.
