Air Arabia Maroc eyes Belgrade service
Low cost airline Air Arabia Maroc is considering introducing flights to the Serbian capital, the Moroccan Embassy in Belgrade has confirmed. It comes after the national carrier Royal Air Maroc, which showed initial interest in flying from Casablanca, decided against the move. The Moroccan Embassy is now hopeful the budget airline will introduce flights from one of its secondary bases, which include Agadir, Fez, Nador and Tangier. Air Arabia Maroc's parent company, Air Arabia, will launch flights from Sharjah to Belgrade this June. Its Moroccan offshoot boasts a fleet of seven Airbus A320 aircraft and maintains flights to a number of cities in western and central Europe.
The Moroccan Embassy is also exploring the possibility of charter flights with Serbian tour operators. "There is demand from both sides", Ambassador Mohammed Amine Belhaj said. Last week, Serbia and Morocco signed a memorandum of understanding that seeks to strengthen and promote cooperation in the field of tourism on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit. It follows on from the revision of the Air Service Agreement between the countries after more than forty years. Both sides have called on the private sector and tourism professionals to explore all opportunities for cooperation and have agreed for the development of an expanded cooperation programme in the tourism sector. There have never been nonstop services between Belgrade and any point in Morocco.
Belgrade Airport is currently served only by two African carriers on a year-round basis, with Tunis Air maintaining services from Tunis and Air Cairo from Hurghada. The airport recently said it had begun talks with a number of carriers over the introduction of new routes, as well as upgrades in frequencies and capacity on existing services. The President of operator VINCI Airports, Nicolas Notebaert, noted, "We are already working on bringing new airlines to Belgrade. Even before we took part in the concession tender we held talks with airlines that could launch new routes to the city. We never make announcements before the carrier itself, but preparations for the summer season are well under way. We have nonstop flights to Europe, and we are looking to considerably increase frequencies on those services. We need some more time to work on flights lasting for over seven hours. However, we are working on all fronts, on both short and long hauls. There will certainly be new routes from Belgrade this summer". Air France, Air Serbia, Air Arabia, Air Cairo, ASL Airlines France and Wizz Air have all announced the introduction of new routes from the Serbian capital this summer season, while a number of airlines will boost frequencies on existing lines.
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