Qatar Airways suspends Skopje, Sarajevo until further notice
Qatar Airways has suspended flights from Doha to both Skopje and Sarajevo until further notice with services unlikely to resume before 2022. The carrier has been delaying the resumption of its operations to the two cities for some time now. It initially planned to restart flights at the start of the 2021/2022 winter season in late October but has now discontinued ticket sales. The decision comes as a result of weak demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with both routes being heavily reliant on transfer passengers coming from markets which are currently completely closed for both outbound and inbound travel.
In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, Qatar Airways said, “Similar to other airlines around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has created significant operational challenges for Qatar Airways. While we continue to operate as many flights as possible, many routes remain commercially unviable due to the significant drop in global demand for air travel. After careful consideration, we have taken the decision to temporarily suspend the Sarajevo and Skopje routes. We have advised all stakeholders and impacted passengers and are working closely with them to offer alternative travel options to other points in our network or full refunds in line with our Travel With Confidence flexible travel policy”. It added, “We understand how important it is for many of our passengers to have access to flights and we want to reassure them we remain committed to operating as many flights as possible. An ongoing review is being conducted and the intention is to reinstate flights in line with a return to regular conditions and market demand”.
Qatar Airways inaugurated flights to both Skopje and Sarajevo in 2017. It was the only Oneworld alliance member to maintain services to the two cities. Elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia, Qatar Airways continues to maintain flights to Belgrade and Zagreb. It currently operates three weekly services to Belgrade with its Airbus A320 jet and one weekly to the Croatian capital with the same aircraft type. Due to increased demand for holiday destinations in the Indian Ocean, the airline will be increasing capacity to Belgrade on select dates in March to the Airbus A321 and has also pushed back its departure time from the Serbian capital in order to cut down on transfer time in Doha. It plans to increase services to four weekly from March 28. On the other hand, services to Zagreb will increase to two weekly at the start of the summer season.
0 Response to "Qatar Airways suspends Skopje, Sarajevo until further notice"
Post a Comment