Serbian aviation hit by millions in Covid losses
Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, has said the country’s air transport industry has so far been hit by tens of millions of euros in losses as a result of the coronavirus Covid-19 outbreak. Commercial flights have been halted to and from the country since last Thursday. “At this point, we estimate the transportation industry has lost some 120 million euros, of which the majority is in the aviation sector. We stipulate the total loss will amount to some 800 million euros”, Ms Mihajlović said.
The Minister noted that on March 22, 2019, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport handled 14.500 passengers during the day, whereas on the same date this year there were 79 travellers processed at the airport (although it was closed for commercial traffic). However, Ms Mihajlović said the Serbian government was planning a stimulus package to help both the aviation and other industries. “We will do everything to weather this crisis as best we can and help industries in need”, she noted. The Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, added, “We will outline a package of significant economic measures within ten days and see what can be done. I can guarantee that all stakeholders in the economy will receive significant state assistance”.
Air Serbia suspended all commercial operations on March 20. It has since run a number of rescue and humanitarian flights for stranded passengers, as well as to transport medical aid and equipment. So far, the airline has flown rescue flights to Istanbul, Amsterdam, Moscow, Paris, Thessaloniki, Larnaca and Doha. The carrier will today deploy an aircraft to London Heathrow. It is currently operating an average of two rescue flights per day. The airline has also been flying almost daily flights to China, predominantly to Shanghai, in order to transport medical supplies. “At a time when our fleet is grounded, we have actually soared to our greatest heights”, the company said, commenting on the humanitarian nature of its operations over the past week.
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