KLM to launch Belgrade service
KLM will introduce flights between Amsterdam and Belgrade this coming summer season, marking the carrier’s return to the Serbian capital after over thirty years. The Dutch national airline will initially commence a three weekly service between the two cities starting May 13, each Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, increasing to daily rotations from June 11. Flights will be operated by the 100-seat Embraer E190 jet. “KLM offers customers from Serbia a convenient connection not only to the Netherlands, but onwards to many destinations in the world”, the company said. As a result of the new service, the airline’s low cost subsidiary Transavia will discontinue its flights to the Serbian capital.
A total of 176.461 passengers flew between Belgrade and Amsterdam on Air Serbia and Transavia in 2019. KLM currently codeshares on Air Serbia’s service between the two cities and both have enjoyed good cooperation over the past few years. This has allowed the Dutch carrier to get feed either to or from Belgrade on its flights, despite not maintaining services to the city itself. In 2019, it carried 7.445 passengers either originating or destined to the Serbian capital. In addition, a further 22.570 travellers who either originated or were destined to Belgrade connected through Amsterdam Airport. KLM has a limited presence in the former Yugoslavia. It maintains year-round flights to Zagreb, as well as seasonal services to Split.
KLM’s new flights will compete directly against Air Serbia’s Amsterdam service. At this point, the Serbian carrier plans to operate five weekly flights between the two cities this summer season, down from ten weekly in 2019, each Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a split morning and evening schedule. The Netherlands has tough entry measures in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The majority of Serbian citizens are not permitted entry into the country, while travellers must have in possession a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of their flight on top of a rapid antigen test, which must have been conducted up to four hours prior to boarding a flight to the Netherlands.
Further details for the new service can be found here.
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