Qatar Airways plans limited EX-YU operations
Qatar Airways plans to maintain limited operations to the former Yugoslavia this coming winter season, with the carrier to perform flights only to Belgrade and Zagreb. As EX-YU Aviation News learns, the airline also plans to resume flights to Skopje although this is unlikely to occur before the summer of 2022. Qatar Airways will operate daily operations between Doha and Belgrade this winter, which is on par with its pre-pandemic frequencies, as well as three weekly flights to Zagreb, increasing to four weekly from December 19. This is still significantly down from the double daily rotations maintained to the Croatian capital prior to the pandemic. At this point, there is no indication if the airline will restore its flights to Sarajevo.
Qatar Airways’ Belgrade service has performed well for the carrier this summer, buoyed by a significant number of transfer passengers from India, who are using the Serbian capital as a quarantine pitstop. They have effectively replaced transfer traffic to and from China, which made up a significant portion of the airline’s passenger structure on the Belgrade flights prior to the pandemic. Qatar Airways launched its service between Doha and Belgrade in late 2012 and despite strong competition from other Gulf rivals vying mainly for transfer passengers, it has seen the fastest passenger growth on the Serbian market over the past few years.
Qatar Airways' top Belgrade pre-pandemic feeder routes
Qatar Airways’ Zagreb operations have been severely impacted by the closure of its traditional feed markets, including Australia and Asia. Inbound and outbound travel from Australia, which is to be eased for citizens and residents from certain Australian states next month, is not expected to be fully restored and operational until mid-2022, while the majority of markets in Asia are still closed for outbound travel or are limited to so-called travel bubbles. Qatar Airways became Zagreb’s second busiest transfer airline in 2019 behind only Lufthansa but has since lost ground.
Qatar Airways' top Zagreb pre-pandemic feeder routes
The Qatari carrier discontinued flights to Skopje at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last March, however, there are plans for the service to be restored in the coming period. The airline’s Skopje operations rely heavily on feed from the Australian market, which will start to slowly reopen for fully vaccinated Australian citizens and residents next month. Plans are yet to be made public for the reopening of Australia to foreign non-essential travel.
Qatar Airways' top Skopje pre-pandemic feeder routes
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