Three Middle Eastern airlines recently announced they would launch flights this summer to Sarajevo International Airport, serving the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are Gulf Air, Jazeera Airways, and Kuwait Airways, flying to Sarajevo from Kuwait City and Manama. The news comes on top of Air Arabia Abu Dhabi previously announcing a new route between Sarajevo and Abu Dhabi for this summer.
Three new route announcements for Sarajevo
Building on the strong demand for leisure travel between the Middle East and Bosnia and Herzegovina, three new airlines have announced they would launch new routes to Sarajevo this summer.
The three airlines are Gulf Air, Jazeera Airways, and Kuwait Airways. All three will operate flights with their Airbus A320neo aircraft, though Jazeera will also deploy its Airbus A320s.
The three airlines are coming to replace capacity between Bosnia and the Middle East that has been left void when FlyBosnia, the country's flag carrier, retired its entire fleet. FlyBosnia is yet to resume scheduled operations.
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Jazeera is the first to arrive
The first of the three airlines to arrive will be Jazeera Airways. Jazeera is coming on Saturday 26th June, launching flights between Kuwait City and Bosnia and Herzegovina as follows:
- Flight J9327 departing Kuwait City (KWI) at 07:00 and arriving in Sarajevo (SJJ) at 10:55 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays
- Flight J9328 departing SJJ at 11:55 and arriving in KWI at 17:40, also on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays
The flights are currently scheduled to run with a mixture of Airbus A320neo and Airbus A320 aircraft.
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Gulf Air is coming next
The next of the three airlines that recently announced new routes to Sarajevo will be Gulf Air, the national airline and flag carrier of Bahrain. Flights will launch next week, on Saturday 26th June, as follows:
- GF7735 departing Manama (BAH) at 09:45 on Wednesdays and 09:00 on Saturdays, arriving in Sarajevo (SJJ) at 15:45 on Wednesdays and 15:00 on Saturdays
- GF7736 departing BAH at 16:45 on Wednesdays and 16:00 on Saturdays, returning to BAH at 22:00 and 22:45, respectively
Flights will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays until the end of the summer schedule, 27th October 2021. All flights will run with Gulf Air's Airbus A320neo aircraft, Flying Bosnian reports. They will run not as scheduled services but as charter flights, and so tickets are not available to buy on the airline's website.
Kuwait Airways is coming third
The last of the three new routes to launch is Kuwait Airways' Kuwait City - Sarajevo service, which was originally due to launch in June 2020 but ultimately never did because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Flights are already on sale. They will run between 3rd July and 28th August as follows:
- Flight KU125 departing Kuwait City (KWI) at 09:30 and arriving in Sarajevo (SJJ) at 13:25 on Wednesdays and Saturdays
- Flight KU126 departing SJJ at 14:25 and arriving in KWI at 20:00
These flights are also scheduled to operate with Airbus A320neo aircraft.
Strong demand from the Middle East
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of Europe’s most friendly tourist destinations. It ranked eighth in a World Economic Forum Competitiveness Report. It is also affordable: its GDP is lower than that of Honduras, Senegal, or Zambia.
Put these key factorss together, and Bosnia and Herzegovina becomes the perfect destination for those looking to escape those hot Middle Eastern summer months at affordable rates.
What do you think of the news that three airlines are launching new routes to Sarajevo this week? Let us know what you think of this story in the comments below.