Air Serbia to launch Tianjin service
Tianjin has been revealed as Air Serbia’s first destination in China when the carrier launches operations to the country this October, pending necessary government approval. At a ceremony celebrating the launch of Hainan Airlines’ service from Beijing to Belgrade yesterday, which was also attended by Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, the Serbian President, Aleksandar Vučić, said, “Air Serbia will fly to Tianjin, which is around an hour or less from Beijing, in north-eastern China. This a good outcome, as we will attract a lot more tourists and businesspeople but also bring China closer to Serbia, as I am certain a greater number of Serbian tourists, businesses and officials will use this service”.
The port city of Tianjin, which is Beijing's main maritime gateway, has a population of 13.9 million people. It is the fourth most populous city in China and the twentieth in the world. It is also one of China’s largest trade hubs, with a free trade agreement expected to be signed between Serbia and China towards the end of the year. There has never been a scheduled nonstop service between Belgrade and Tianjin, although several special charters were operated over the past year from the city to transport Chinese workers to Serbia. LOT Polish Airlines is the only European carrier serving Tianjin, with nonstop flights from Warsaw. The service was introduced in 2021. Due to China’s strict Covid-19 restriction, the flights are currently maintained once per week with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Tianjin Airport, which is the sight of the Airbus A320 final assembly line, is one of the largest in China, handling 23.8 million passengers in the pre-pandemic 2019, of which 3.3 million were on international flights. Other than LOT’s Warsaw service, the airport has no other scheduled passenger flights to Europe, with the bulk of its traffic being domestic services. It serves as a hub for Tianjin Airlines, which is owned by Hainan Airlines’ parent company HNA. Air Serbia will utilise an A330-200 aircraft on its planned new service between Belgrade and Tianjin.
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