Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines neglect Middle Eastern markets
The two largest flag carriers in the former Yugoslavia will not operate a single scheduled service to anywhere in the Middle East this summer despite growing demand being used by airlines in that region. Air Serbia and Croatia Airlines have both planned a return to the Middle East this summer with the Serbian carrier to launch operations to Amman and its Croatian counterpart to restore services to Tel Aviv, but both have now been suspended. The two left the region at the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and have not returned since, despite the full reopening of most Middle Eastern markets. Although Air Serbia has entered into several codeshare agreements with its counterparts to offer routes to the Middle East, most recently with Turkish Airlines, the Croatian flag carrier has, for the most part, been absent from the region.
Based on traffic flow data, Belgrade airport has the most indirect traffic to cities in the Middle East with which it already offers non-stop flights, mainly Tel Aviv and Tehran, closely followed by Dubai . However, Kuwait City is the busiest unserved route in the Middle East from the Serbian capital, followed by Muscat and Baghdad. Many of the major unserved routes in the region include points in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which are markets where Serbian construction companies and contractors are particularly active and working on several major projects, which has led to an increase travel demand in the region. On the other hand, the Omani capital of Muscat was the busiest unserved route from Zagreb in the Middle East, followed by Kuwait, Tehran and Beirut.
In contrast, the only other flag carrier remaining in the former Yugoslavia, Air Montenegro, has recognized the potential of the Middle East region and has started operating regular charter services between Podgorica and Tel Aviv, which are maintained throughout the summer season. The airline offers two weekly flights between the two cities, increasing to three per week from next month. “We expect to be able to maintain year-round scheduled flights to Israel in the near future,” Air Montenegro sales director Dejan Pižurica said. Israel’s largest city has the most indirect traffic with Podgorica from the Middle East. It is followed by Dubai, Beirut, Amman, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
