Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA
On 3 November 2022, Air Serbia, formerly JAT Yugoslav Airlines, announces that it is launching its first direct scheduled flight from Belgrade to Tianjin on 9 December 2022 with its new Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The airline effectively becomes the only foreign airline to operate commercial flights to Tianjin from 9 December 2022.
On 9 December 2022, Air Serbia flight JU702 departs from Belgrade for Tianjin at 2.10 pm and touches down in Tianjin at 7 am on 10 December 2022. Travel time is 9 hours 50 minutes, which is about 10 hours.
The first outbound flight from Tianjin to Belgrade takes place on 11 December 2022 when flight JU703 leaves Tianjin for Belgrade ar 10.30 am and arrives in Belgrade at 3.20 pm in 11 hours 50 minutes (about 12 hours) of travel time.
Air Serbia flies to Tianjin on Fridays and returns to Belgrade on Sundays.
Jiří Marek, CEO Air Serbia, remarked on the launch of flight to Tianjin, “In spite of the still limited international air traffic with China and strict rules imposed since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, our airline has succeeded in obtaining all the necessary permits and completed all preparatory activities, so that we can launch flights to Tianjin in December.
Air Serbia is not a stranger to China. In 2020, the airline operated dozens of special cargo flights, transporting hundreds of tonnes of medical devices and equipment to Serbia from China. Marek is convinced that the airline's direct service will help boost the already strong economic and cultural relations between the two friendly countries.
Marek added that Air Serbia will expand its route network to other strategically important cities in the near future, such as Beijing and Shanghai. He said, "We will continue to closely monitor the status of COVID-19 related restrictions and promptly react on new opportunities, once the market access limitations have ended.”
He also said, "The ground time that Air Serbia aircraft will be spending in Tianjin is not optimal and comes as the results of a combination of various COVID-19 restrictions still in place. We will continue to work to improve that in the future, whenever such an option becomes available."
JAT operated its last flight to Beijing in October 2000 and thus in the new name Air Serbia, the airline is not a stranger to the Chinese travel market.
By launching a direct service to Tianjin, Air Serbia will ensure good connections via Belgrade to numerous destinations in its network, such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Ljubljana, Valencia, Prague, Venice, Zagreb and other destinations throughout Europe and in the wider Balkans region.
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