Air Serbia sees busiest September, handles two million passengers

Air Serbia has recorded its busiest September since rebranding in 2013 and has handled over two million passengers so far this year. The carrier welcomed 300.000 travellers in September, up 69.8% on the same month last year, and has outstripped its 2019 pre-pandemic performance as well. During the month it operated 3.400 flights of which 2.900 were scheduled and 500 charters. The carrier handled its two-millionth passenger of the year on October 5, which is up from 1.58 million travellers for the whole of 2021. A record 300.000 passengers were welcomed on charter flights. Similar to last year, the first quarter of 2022 was significantly affected by coronavirus-related restrictions and measures across most European markets, with the majority of Serbian citizens unable to travel to most of the continent as a result.

Commenting on its operational performance, Air Serbia’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Boško Rupić, said, “Even though the holiday season has practically ended, the summer season is still ongoing in the airline industry. As usual, demand for flights during September is somewhat lower than in July and August, which were record-setting months in terms of the number of passengers carried, but is still very high for this time of the year. Thanks to the trust shown by our passengers, during 2022, we have achieved excellent results”. He added, “In September, we carried our twenty-millionth passenger since we started operating under the Air Serbia brand, and now also our two-millionth passenger since the start of 2022. We are heading towards new records, constantly striving to expand our offer with new and even more attractive destinations”.

Air Serbia’s CEO, Jiri Marek, recently said the airline would be close to overtaking its pre-pandemic traffic levels by the end of the year. “In 2022 we will be slightly below the numbers from 2019, likely ending up at 91% of pre-pandemic levels. Of course, only if nothing negative happens. In 2023 Air Serbia will definitely surpass 2019 levels and from then on, we aim to grow between 10% and 15% every year”, Mr Marek said. Yesterday, the carrier launched rescue fares for passengers flying out of Sarajevo to select European destinations in light of Wizz Air's base closure from November 1. "Air Serbia has decided to deploy adequate capacities and provide special fares to help all passengers with partially of completely disrupted itineraries reach their final destination with seamless connections via Belgrade", the company said. Special fares are available for flights to and from Venice, Zurich, Salzburg, Nuremberg, Dusseldorf,. Amsterdam and Copenhagen.  

EX-YU Aviation News

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