Turkish Airlines eyes further growth in Belgrade
Turkish Airlines has embarked on an expansion of its operations into Belgrade this year by introducing services from Ankara through its regional brand AnadoluJet, as well as a third daily service between Istanbul and Belgrade. The additions were made possible through its closer ties with Air Serbia as well as greater political will. The airline now plans to further grow its operations between Ankara and Belgrade and hopes to introduce a year-round scheduled service between Antalya and the Serbian capital, which is currently operated on a charter basis by Air Serbia. In the coming weeks, Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will visit Serbia where further discussions on expanding tourism and aviation links are expected to take place, among other matters.
Commenting on its Ankara - Belgrade service, AnadoluJet said, “The route is showing significant successes and we are certain it will only keep improving with time. It is mainly targeted at point-to-point travellers”. The Turkish Airlines-operate regional brand has begun expanding its fleet by taking deliveries of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, while Airbus A321nes are to follow later this year. The carrier has earmarked the latter for its future flights to the Serbian capital, which would result in additional capacity on the route. “There are more and more passengers from Turkey visiting Serbia, and we expect for this trend to continue due to the upcoming passport-free travel between the two countries”, AnadoluJet noted.
The Turkish Ambassador to Serbia, Hami Aksoy, has said his diplomatic mission is assisting Turkish Airlines in the introduction of a new year-round service between Antalya and Belgrade. However, due to the rigid bilateral air service agreement between the two countries, which outlines the need for the national carrier of each not to object to the launch of any new service, the Embassy is in discussions with Air Serbia in order to enable the route. “Our goal is to connect Serbia with Antalya through nonstop year-round flights with Turkish Airlines. We are currently talking about this with Air Serbia. I hope we will succeed as Southern Turkey has lovely weather all year round, perfect for tourist visits”, Mr Aksoy said.
Serbia and Turkey are soon expected to sign a protocol enabling passport-free travel. “This development will enable citizens of the two countries to cross state borders with a valid biometric ID card to improve and facilitate the movement of people and goods. The measure will also facilitate a large number of mutual tourist visits”, the Turkish Embassy noted. In addition to Turkish Airlines’ triple daily flights between Istanbul and Belgrade, as well AnadoluJet’s two weekly rotations between the two capital cities, Air Serbia maintains a daily service from Belgrade to Istanbul, as well as two weekly flights each from Niš and Kraljevo to Turkey’s largest city. In addition, low cost carrier Pegasus Airlines runs four weekly flights between Istanbul’s Sabiha Gocken Airport and the Serbian capital.
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