Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines overlook Middle East markets
The two largest national carriers from the former Yugoslavia will not operate a single scheduled service to anywhere in the Middle East this summer despite growing demand which is being utilised by airlines from that region. Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines have both planned a return to the Middle East this summer with the Serbian carrier to launch operations to Amman and its Croatian counterpart to restore services to Tel Aviv, however, both have now been shelved. The two left the region upon the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and have not returned since, despite most markets in the Middle East being fully reopened now. Although Air Serbia has concluded several code share agreements with its counterparts to offer connections to the Middle East, most recently with Turkish Airlines, the Croatian flag carrier has, for the most part, been absent from the region.
Based on traffic flow data, Belgrade Airport has the most indirect traffic to cities in the Middle East with which it already boasts nonstop flights, primarily Tel Aviv and Tehran, with Dubai following close behind. However, Kuwait City is the busiest unserved route in the Middle East from the Serbian capital, followed by Muscat and Baghdad. Many of the top unserved routes in the region include points in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which are markets in which Serbian construction companies and contractors are particularly active and working on several major projects which has brought about an increase in travel demand to the region. On the other hand, the Omani capital of Muscat was Zagreb’s busiest unserved route in the Middle East, followed by Kuwait City, Tehran and Beirut.
In contrast, the only other remaining flag carrier in the former Yugoslavia, Air Montenegro, has recognised the potential of the Middle East region and has begun operating regular charter services between Podgorica and Tel Aviv, which are being maintained throughout the summer season. The airline is running two weekly flights between the two cities, increasing to three per week from next month. “We expect to be able to maintain scheduled year-round flights to Israel in the near future”, Air Montenegro’s Sales Manager, Dejan Pižurica, said. Israel’s largest city has the most indirect traffic with Podgorica from the Middle East. It is followed by Dubai, Beirut, Amman, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
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