Belgrade - Toronto flights “top priority”
The Serbian President and the Canadian Ambassador to the country have held talks with both sides concluding that the establishment of nonstop flights between the two nations is the one of their highest priorities. In a joint statement, the two said, “We express hope that nonstop flights between Belgrade and Toronto will be launched shortly, which would not only improve economic ties but connectivity between Serbia and Canada as well. The Serbian diaspora in Canada serves as an important bridge between the two countries”. In October last year, the now former Canadian Ambassador to Serbia, Kati Csaba, said the two countries were in advanced talks over the introduction of flights between Belgrade and Toronto, despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Serbia and Canada signed a new Air Service Agreement in late 2018, paving the way for flights. At the time, the Canadian Embassy in Belgrade said services would begin in either 2019 or 2020. “The Embassy is in talks with Air Serbia so we can gauge their interest and we believe the route has great potential. There is a large Serbian diaspora in Canada, but these flights would also be very useful for the business community”, the Embassy said two years ago. Last February it noted services could begin “one of these days”. Toronto's Pearson Airport confirmed in 2018 that it too held talks with Air Serbia over the resumption of flights between Belgrade and Canada's largest city. "We will continue to work with Air Serbia to find an opportunity to add Toronto Pearson as one of their newest travel destinations", the airport said.
Flights between Serbia and Canada were last operated twelve years ago by leisure carrier Skyservice, which has since gone bankrupt. During the 1970s and 1980s, JAT Yugoslav Airlines maintained services from Belgrade to Toronto and Montreal. Air Serbia’s predecessor, Jat Airways, conducted a study in late 2005 based on which it estimated it could carry up to 83.000 passengers to Toronto annually. The airline anticipated an average cabin load factor of 74% on a Boeing 767 and believed the flights would appeal primarily to diaspora travellers, as well as transfer passengers from the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, western Romania, southern Hungary and the Middle East. The Serbian government recently said Air Serbia may use lower aircraft leasing rates to acquire an additional jet, although it did not specify the type.
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