Nonstop China - Serbia flights resume after 22 years

Hainan Airlines has launched operations between Beijing and Belgrade today, marking the resumption of scheduled nonstop flights between the two cities after 22 years. The carrier’s 292-seat Airbus A330-300 aircraft, featuring 32 seats in business class and the remaining 260 in economy, landed at Nikola Tesla Airport at 08.20 this morning. Due to strict Covid-19 restrictions in China, as well as a caps on passenger numbers, flights are currently limited to one per week, but will increase to two weekly from September or October. The aircraft was greeted in the Serbian capital by a water cannon salute, as well as the country’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, the Chinese Ambassador to Serbia, Chen Bo, the CEO of Air Serbia, Jiri Marek, the General Manager of Belgrade Airport, Francois Berisot, and government ministers.

Commenting on the service launch, Ms Chen said, "It was an honour to fly on the first nonstop service from Beijing to Belgrade. These flights will further consolidate Belgrade's position as a regional hub. I would particularly like to thank Air Serbia on its assistance for the launch of these services and I look forward to seeing them in China too".

The return service is scheduled to depart at 15.00 this afternoon. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the point of entry to China will be Dalian, after which passengers will continue to Beijing. "Belgrade is one of the first international destinations to be restored by Hainan Airlines due to significant demand. The route will build a bridge to facilitate people to people exchange and promote business between Chinese and Serbian enterprises, which can now seek even more opportunities under the Belt and Road cooperation framework. The flights are scheduled so as to connect onto more than forty domestic destinations in cooperation with Hainan Group airlines", the company's Vice Chairman, Cheng Ming, said upon the route's launch in Beijing. Today’s service marks Hainan Airlines’ return to Serbia after four years. The carrier commenced operations from Beijing to Belgrade via Prague in September 2017, with the airline holding fifth freedom rights on the Prague - Belgrade - Prague sectors, allowing it to also sell tickets between the two European cities. However, flights were discontinued in late 2018. Hainan Airlines' second attempt at serving Belgrade comes months before Air Serbia inaugurates its own operations to China, which have been announced for this October.

International capacity from mainland China is currently down 95% on 2019 levels but the country’s civil aviation administration is making moves to revive more overseas flights. Analysis of OAG data shows that there are currently 42 airport pairs receiving nonstop flights between mainland China and Europe. Total two-way weekly seat capacity stands at 19.126. This compares with 142 airport pairs and 447.761 weekly seats during the same period in 2019. China has emerged as one of the top unserved markets to and from Belgrade since visa restrictions between the two countries were mutually lifted in 2017, with travel reaching a record high in 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the traffic flow between China and Serbia over the past few years has originated from Shanghai, followed by Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu.

Flights between Beijing and Belgrade were first introduced in August 1972 by Air China’s predecessor CAAC with the routing Beijing - Karachi - Belgrade - Bucharest, utilising the Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft. Over the years, the stop shifted from the Pakistani city to the likes of Urumchi and Tehran. Furthermore, the final point on the route changed from Bucharest to Paris Orly, and later to Zurich. In 1978, the equipment was upgraded to the Boeing 707 and in 1989 to the Boeing 767.

On the other hand, JAT Yugoslav Airlines operated its first service to Beijing via Karachi in December 1971 under the Air Yugoslavia charter brand with its Boeing 707, while scheduled services were introduced on April 30, 1979, as flight JU610. The airline later modified the routing to the Chinese capital via Calcutta and began using its DC10 aircraft. Following the disintegration of Yugoslavia, JAT Yugoslav Airlines restored operations to Beijing on December 18, 1997. The route would be maintained until October 2000 with a disruption during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. In September 2000, JAT finalised an agreement with Air China, enabling passengers to and from Australia to transfer via Beijing with a three-hour stop in the Chinese capital.