Air Serbia carried over 400,000 passengers in July, making last month the busiest on record for the airline. The figure represents an increase of 47% compared to July 2021, when the airline carried 276,191 passengers. More importantly, passenger numbers are up 9% compared to the record-setting pre-pandemic July 2021 when Air Serbia carried 372,839 passengers.

Some routes are booming

Some routes are performing incredibly well compared to 2021. For example, air traffic has grown by 172% to Barcelona (BCN). Air Serbia was sending its largest aircraft, the Airbus A330, to Barcelona this year to cater for an uptick in leisure demand after two years of lockdowns and quarantine.

Other destinations are also doing well compared to July 2019. Passenger numbers to Larnaca (LCA) are up 128%, to Dubrovnik (DBV) by 128%, and to Athens (ATH) by 62%. Flights to Madrid Barajas (MAD) resumed this year after a two-year hiatus, as the route did not operate in 2021 due to the pandemic, but they immediately reached passenger levels from 2019.

Air Serbia Airbus A330
Photo: Air Serbia

Even non-leisure destinations are doing very well for Air Serbia. Flights to London Heathrow (LHR) are seeing a growth in passenger numbers of 151%, aided by the United Kingdom’s removal of all quarantine requirements. Unlike almost all of Europe, the UK still required both pre-arrival and post-arrival COVID-19 testing last July, as well as mandatory quarantine.

Passenger traffic to Zurich (ZRH) grew 87%, Istanbul (IST) saw 43% growth aided by Air Serbia’s partnership with Turkish Airlines, Berlin Brandenburg (BER) saw 40% growth thanks to easyJet exiting the Belgrade-Berlin market, and New York (JFK) saw growth of 27%.

Air Serbia’s regional feeder network benefited too, with Skopje in North Macedonia seeing as much as 71% growth in passenger numbers, Sarajevo (SJJ) in Bosnia and Herzegovina seeing 67% growth, Zagreb (ZAG) in Croatia 52% growth, and Ljubljana (LJU) in Slovenia 35% growth compared to July 2021.

Air Serbia cabin crew
Photo: Air Serbia

Charter traffic was a key driver of growth

Commenting on these results, Boško Rupić, Air Serbia’s General Manager of Commercial and Strategy, said:

“The results we achieved in July are a good indicator that we made correct and timely business decisions when it comes to scheduling for this summer season. Here I primarily mean the strategic launching of new routes to tourist destinations, including those in Italy and Spain, which were most popular among passengers in the summer season. This result is also a consequence of additional growth of charter traffic by approximately 37% this season, compared to 2019. We will continue to keep a close eye on market demand and boost our capacities on the most popular routes in our network, and we are certain that the stable growth trend will continue in the coming months.”

The Serbian national airline is currently handling 55% of the total passenger numbers at its base, Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG). This is a particularly high number at a time when all airlines that serve Belgrade are boosting their seat capacity.

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