Air Serbia has made additional modifications to its network as it faces the prospect of having fewer aircraft in its fleet than initially planned after terminating its wet-lease contract with Marathon Airlines for Embraer jets, which would have seen up to six frames operating on its behalf this summer. The Serbian airline now plans to run some 29.820 scheduled flights this coming summer season, from March 31 until October 26, down 4.8% on its previously filed schedule. During the course of the previous week, the carrier has removed 1.466 scheduled flights, or 733 departures from Belgrade.
Air Serbia still plans to operate more scheduled services than the previous summer season. It currently has 4.7% more flights planned compared to summer 2023 and has announced its intention of further growing its long-haul network, which is yet to be scheduled. As a result, the carrier is still finalising its network and further changes remain possible. In contract to last year, the Serbian carrier has removed flights from Belgrade to Cairo, Cologne, Florence, and Marseille entirely from its network. All four were introduced as new routes last summer. Furthermore, it is yet to schedule its return to Tel Aviv after suspending flights amid the ongoing war in Gaza. The removal of the five routes constitutes the bulk of the reductions to the network. The airline still plans to boost frequencies on a number of ither destinations, including the likes of Barcelona, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan, Oslo, Palma de Mallorca, Paris, Rome, Stuttgart, and Venice, as well as regional destinations such as Bucharest, Dubrovnik, Ljubljana, Sofia, Thessaloniki, and Zagreb.
Air Serbia terminated its wet-lease contract for Embraer aircraft with Greece’s Marathon Airlines last month, after the latter’s aircraft was involved in an accident at Belgrade Airport while operating on behalf of the Serbian carrier. Air Serbia has said terminating its contract with Marathon was a necessity. “This was a very serious incident. We are aware of the potential consequences that could have occurred. That’s why we very quickly made the decision to terminate cooperation with Marathon Airlines, regardless of the fact that it is a certified European airline. The decision was necessary because the safety of our passengers comes first”, the airline noted. The carrier is seeking a replacement for the aircraft.
