Serbian regulator blocks new Egypt flights
Serbia's Civil Aviation Directorate has blocked several Egyptian carriers from launching new flights to the country. The regulator has refused to issue Air Cairo permits to increase its five weekly service from Hurghada to Belgrade by a further two weekly frequencies and introduce new services from Sharm el Sheikh. In addition, AlMasria Universal Airlines' request to up its frequencies from Hurghada to the Serbian capital from two weekly to up to nine weekly flights has also been rejected, while the "Aviatica" portal reports that leisure carrier FlyEgypt has been blocked from introducing two weekly services from the Egyptian resort town to Niš. As EX-YU Aviation News learns, Almasria is now threatening to completely pull out of the Serbian market.
The Serbian Civil Aviation Directorate has not given a formal explanation as to why it has taken such a hard line towards Egyptian leisure carriers this year, although similar measures were enforced in 2015 when Nesma Airlines was blocked from operating flights between Hurghada and Belgrade, while Air Cairo was denied approval to increase frequencies on the same route. The Directorate usually forwards flight requests made by airlines from certain countries to the Ministry for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure. It is believed that the Ministry then sends these requests to Air Serbia for an "advisory opinion". The Serbian carrier will increase its operations to Hurghada this summer and will resume summer charters to Sharm El Sheikh after four years.
This summer, Air Serbia will also resume year-round operations between Belgrade and Cairo, linking the two cities with a scheduled air service for the first time in fourteen years. Air Cairo's CEO noted the airline was seeking to cooperate closely with the Serbian carrier on the new two weekly service, which is set to launch on June 4. This may include a codeshare agreement between the two airlines. Air Cairo's parent company, Egypt Air, currently codeshares on Aegean Airlines' service between Athens and Belgrade. The number of Serbian tourists visiting Egypt increased 144% in 2018 compared to the year before, according to the Egyptian Embassy in Belgrade. Air Cairo, Air Serbia and AlMasria Universal Airlines maintained flights between the two countries last summer, the latter with a widebody Airbus A330 aircraft.
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