Sarajevo Airport eyes Emirates flights
Sarajevo Airport hopes to attract one of the world’s largest airlines, Emirates, to launch flights to Bosnia and Herzegovina in response to strong travel demand from the United Arab Emirates, as well as the Middle East. The airport believes that existing operations from Dubai, maintained by hybrid carrier Flydubai, could be further expanded by Emirates’ arrival. “We sincerely hope that a respectable airline such as Emirates will consider and accept our offer in order for us to commence negotiations. There is strong demand and potential between the UAE and our country. Flydubai has been our partner for many years and we have excellent cooperation with them. In the coming period, we will work to further enhance our partnership”, the General Manager of Sarajevo Airport, Alan Bajić, said recently.
Flydubai has operated up to three daily flights between its hub and Sarajevo during the summer months. This year, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital was linked to three cities in the UAE, the other two being Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, while it also boasted a notable network to other Gulf states over the summer including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. Emirates is believed to be weighing up options for a seasonal service to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital. Further improving its prospects on the potential Sarajevo route is Qatar Airways’ absence. The airline discontinued flights to the city at the start of the pandemic and has so far made no indication when and if it plans to restore operations.
Flydubai’s Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations, Jeyhun Efendi, previously told EX-YU Aviation News, "Sarajevo is one of our more popular routes but it is quite seasonal. Over the years we have witnessed almost 50% year-on-year passenger growth on this route. Travellers on this service predominantly come from Dubai, as well as our connecting flights from the Gulf. This is obviously inbound tourism". Emirates has grown its presence in the former Yugoslavia in recent years, directly entering the market by launching operations between Dubai and Zagreb in 2017. However, flights were later downgraded to seasonal and are currently suspended as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The airline also codeshares on Flydubai’s services to Sarajevo, Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana.
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