Air Serbia hit by Amsterdam seat quotas
NEWS FLASH
Air Serbia will be forced to reduce capacity on services departing Amsterdam to Belgrade after Schiphol Airport issued a request for the airline to reduce its number of seats on offer on flights from the Dutch city from Thursday, July 7, until the end of the month. Schiphol Airport noted it cannot organise a work process that would enable Air Serbia’s aircraft to be handled on time due to severe staff shortages. The Serbian carrier has responded angrily to the request, noting it has asked for Schiphol to reconsider its decision and that it will explore legal action. Furthermore, it notes that KLM will have an unfair advantage on the route, as it will be able to organise its operations more easily from its hub airport. “Air Serbia believes that by imposing these types of restrictions and limiting the number of passengers per flight, will cause great financial and reputational damage, primarily due to the number of passengers with purchased tickets who will be denied boarding in case the aircraft is already overbooked over the given quota on certain days, despite seats still being available on the given flights. Air Serbia also believes that such a move is not based on a relationship of mutual respect and appreciation, bearing in mind that the Serbian national carrier has been flying continuously on this route for over fifty years and that it was the only airline to maintain traffic between Belgrade and Amsterdam for a long period during the coronavirus pandemic”. It added, “In the end, the Serbian national airline, like all other carriers, was obliged to plan and operate all flights to Amsterdam Airport based on historical slots, without the possibility of reducing the volume of traffic, and in accordance with the policy of retaining historical slots adopted by the competent EU institutions. Paradoxically, a new regulation was passed which now requires airlines to reduce capacity and cancel flights, which have since sold out due to increased demand for travel this summer”. The capacity quota will not affect services from Belgrade to Amsterdam.
0 Response to "Air Serbia hit by Amsterdam seat quotas"
Post a Comment