Airlines further defer, cancel new EX-YU routes
Airlines are further delaying the launch or completely cancelling new routes to cities across the former Yugoslavia, which were to commence between March and the first half of June as a result of the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. At this point, only ten services scheduled within that timeframe are set go ahead according to plan. SunExpress’ new seasonal flights between Izmir and Skopje, which were due to launch on May 23, have become the latest causality of the virus, with the route suspended for this year. So far, seventeen new routes that were planned to launch this summer season have been completely shelved.
| Route | Original date | New date |
|---|---|---|
| Vienna - Zadar (Austrian) | MAR 29 | MAY 18 |
| Vienna - Dubrovnik | MAR 29 | MAY 10 |
| Vienna - Zadar (Lauda) | MAR 30 | MAY 08 |
| Paris - Dubrovnik | MAR 30 | JUN 01 |
| London Luton - Ljubljana | MAR 30 | APR 30 |
| Poznan - Podgorica | MAR 30 | MAY 11 |
| Gdansk - Zadar | MAR 31 | CANCELLED |
| Kraljevo - Thessaloniki | MAR 31 | MAY 02 |
| Stockholm - Tivat | APR 01 | JUN 03 |
| Dublin - Podgorica | APR 02 | MAY 10 |
| Vienna - Banja Luka | APR 03 | MAY 08 |
| Hahn - Rijeka | APR 04 | MAY 09 |
| Paris Orly - Pula | APR 04 | JUN 06 |
| Nantes - Dubrovnik | APR 11 | JUN 06 |
| Athens - Split | APR 19 | MAY 10 |
| Brussels - Pula | APR 25 | MAY 13 |
| Kiev - Ljubljana | APR 30 | JUN 04 |
While the vast majority of flights in April and May have been cancelled, excluding repatriation flights, airlines are hoping to resume operations ahead of the peak July and August season, despite more sombre industry predictions. Some airlines such as Wizz Air and Jet2 expect to resume operations in June, while easyJet has launched holidays for late 2020 and is trying to convince travellers to book summer flights by cutting its fees for hold luggage. Despite those moves, experts agree that travel restrictions likely will remain in place for many more weeks. Extending France's state of lockdown, President Emmanuel Macron has called for the external borders of the Schengen passport-free travel zone to stay closed until September, which has been interpreted by experts as a further indication that the European Union restrictions on travel are set to remain in force for months. The British government, for its part, has advised people not to book summer holidays and to avoid all non-essential travel indefinitely. However, each country will make its decisions, with destinations across Europe facing many different levels of lockdowns making predictions practically impossible.
| Route | Original date | New date |
|---|---|---|
| Zagreb - Sofia | MAY 01 | JUN 01 |
| Wroclaw - Zadar | MAY 01 | CANCELLED |
| Frankfurt - Tivat | MAY 01 | MAY 22 |
| Paris - Podgorica | MAY 01 | JUN 05 |
| Vilnius - Dubrovnik | MAY 02 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Riga | MAY 03 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Cork | MAY 03 | CANCELLED |
| Zagreb - Podgorica | MAY 03 | JUN 02 |
| Beuvais - Zadar | MAY 06 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Kaunas | MAY 06 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Bremen | MAY 07 | CANCELLED |
| Vilnius - Rijeka | MAY 07 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Liverpool | MAY 10 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Maastricht | MAY 11 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Aarhus | MAY 15 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Hamburg | MAY 15 | CANCELLED |
| Zadar - Toulouse | MAY 16 | CANCELLED |
| Doha - Dubrovnik | MAY 18 | CANCELLED |
| Manchester - Tivat | MAY 21 | JUN 18 |
| London Stansted - Tivat | MAY 21 | JUN 18 |
| Izmir - Skopje | MAY 23 | CANCELLED |
| Tel Aviv - Ljubljana | MAY 23 | JUN 02 |
| London Stansted - Zadar | MAY 24 | JUN 17 |
| Manchester - Zadar | MAY 24 | JUN 17 |
| Qassim - Sarajevo | MAY 25 | MAY 27 |
| Monastir - Zagreb | MAY 27 | JUN 24 |
| Malmo - Split | MAY 30 | CANCELLED |
However, there are some hopeful predictions coming from the industry. Ryanair says it is bracing for an airline price war that it expects to win once coronavirus restrictions are lifted and passengers flock back to tourist destinations. Brushing off forecasts of a sluggish recovery, Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O'Leary, has predicted a swift traffic rebound. He said the pain would come instead from "massive price-dumping" that traditional airlines now seeking bailouts would struggle to keep up with. Ryanair assumes European flights will stay grounded until a "limited" resumption in June, Mr O'Leary said. After that, a resurgence of intra-European travel will be driven by steep discounts on last-minute holidays in July and August. "Lots of people across northern Europe have been locked up in apartments. They will all want to go on holiday before the kids go back to school as long as they can do so in reasonable safety. Before too long, volumes will be back on a normal footing but on lower pricing. The minute we're about to start flying again we'll start doing seat sales, and so will every other airline", Mr O’Leary said. Sounding another discordant note amid the coronavirus gloom, he said the summer of 2021 had huge potential as holidaymakers make up for the previous year's thwarted plans.
| Route | Original date | New date |
|---|---|---|
| Kiev - Zagreb | JUN 02 | JUL 21 |
| Belgrade - Amman | JUN 01 | JUN 04 |
| Belgrade - Chisinau | JUN 01 | JUN 07 |
| Belgrade - Lviv | JUN 01 | JUN 08 |
| Belgrade - Rostov-on-Don | JUN 02 | JUN 05 |
| Podgorica - Lisbon | JUN 22 | JUL 06 |
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