Air Serbia to launch Rostov service
Air Serbia will introduce flights from Belgrade to Rostov-on-Don in Russia, making it its second new destination this year and the third overall launched since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Services will commence on June 4 and operate twice per week, departing Belgrade each Friday and Sunday, and Rostov each Monday and Friday, with the Airbus A319 aircraft. The airline initially planned to launch flights to the southern Russian city in 2020 but was forced to cancel them due to the global health emergency. In addition to Rostov, Air Serbia plans to restore operations to Krasnodar on June 4 and St Petersburg on June 8.
Air Serbia is relying both on transfer passengers and tourists on its new Rostov service. According to OAG data, in the pre-pandemic 2019 there were 1.436 travellers flying between the two cities on a single itinerary. The overwhelming majority, some 86% of passengers, flew with Aeroflot, followed by Turkish Airlines with 11% of the market and Belavia handling the remaining 3% of travellers. There have never been nonstop flights between the two cities, with Air Serbia codesharing on Aeroflot’s service between Moscow and Rostov. The city will become Air Serbia’s fourth destination in Russia following Moscow, St Petersburg and Krasnodar.
The Serbian carrier has been unable to restore flights to cities in Russia other than Moscow due to a government cap on flights and entry requirements. While both Serbian and Russian citizens can travel freely between the two with a negative PCR test, they must fly on the nonstop service between Belgrade and Moscow. Frequencies have also been limited to seven per week for airlines from each country. However, these limitations will be lifted by June in time for Air Serbia’s new flights. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Air Serbia has added both Oslo and Geneva to its destination network.
Further details for the new Belgrade - Rostov service can be found here. Tickets are now available for purchase via the airline's website.
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