Air Serbia to launch China flights “by year’s end”
Air Serbia plans to introduce flights to China by the end of the year, the country’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Tatjna Matić, said. During talks with her Albanian counterpart, she noted that Serbia would work together with several of its neighbours to jointly present their product on the Chinese market. “Considering that Air Serbia plans to introduce nonstop flights to China towards the end of the year, we believe that joint representation on far-away markets such as this one will significantly increase the number of arrivals to the region”, Ms Matić said. China’s Hainan Airlines will introduce nonstop flights between Beijing and Belgrade this Saturday.
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| Hainan Airlines launches nonstop flights between Beijing and Belgrade this Saturday |
Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, recently said the airline will soon make a decision on the lease of a second wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft in order to launch new destinations in Asia and North America. Earlier this year, Air Serbia undertook due diligence and drafted a business plan for the introduction of flights from Belgrade to either Shanghai or Beijing in Asia, as well as Chicago or Toronto in North America. Mr Marek confirmed the airline had initially planned to wet-lease an A330-200 for this summer season but gave up on the idea due to rising fuel prices. Last week, Air Serbia’s minority shareholder, Etihad Airways, became the first international airline to restore scheduled flights to Beijing since the start of the pandemic, with a one weekly service from Abu Dhabi.
China remains one of the most restrictive countries for travel and entry due to the coronavirus pandemic and its zero-Covid policy. However, it has been easing restrictions over the past few weeks and is expected to further relax measures by the end of the year. As of this month, passengers can take nonstop flights or can transfer to China. Travelers can also make multiple transfers, which was not permitted until recently. China also has a special policy in place for travel from Serbia, which is less restrictive than for passengers from other countries. This includes simplified testing requirements. Furthermore, there are additional concessions for those vaccinated with Chinese-made jabs. China is still not open for tourism and currently, foreign nationals may enter the country for work or emergency humanitarian needs. Chinese nationals and citizens living in foreign countries are permitted entry into China but must quarantine upon arrival. The country has also ended its closed-loop rostering system for cabin crew, which meant flight personnel would be isolated from the community by working eleven, 21 or 28-day cycles, after which they would have to quarantine in specially designated facilities for seven to fourteen days and then go under medical surveillance for a further seven to fourteen days. As a result, many cabin crew would be isolated for up to 49 days. The authorities' decision to retire the system has, in large part, enabled Chinese carriers to resume more international services this month.
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