Serbia and Saudi Arabia have concluded an Air Services Agreement, enabling the introduction of scheduled flights between the two countries. The agreement was signed by the Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Aleksandra Sofronijević, and the Executive Vice President for Economic Policy and International Cooperation of the General Authority of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Al bin Mohammed Rajab. "The signing of this agreement has created the conditions for the establishment of direct air connectivity between Belgrade and Riyadh. This step will further strengthen Belgrade’s position as a key regional transport hub, while also contributing to and encouraging the advancement of ties between our countries, particularly in infrastructure, agriculture, energy and mining. We thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its partnership and trust, and we believe this marks the beginning of a new, dynamic chapter in the relations between our two countries”, Ms Sofronijević said. There have never been scheduled nonstop flights between Serbia and Saudi Arabia. The two sides have been working on an Air Services Agreement since the summer of 2023.
Nice. Perhaps they should also work on abolishing visas for Serbian citizens as well.
ReplyDeletePlus the application process goes through the embassy in Sarajevo, and you need to make a payment to a random company in Serbia for visa processing, it is a mess
DeleteAnd yet the Saudis claim and advertise that they want to become a tourism powerhouse and diversify their economy...
DeleteFor Croatian citizens visas are handled only 30 min max. For Serbs I'm not sure
DeleteCould be because of EU passports.
DeleteSome countries are included on their streamlined evisa application process. Most countries in Europe, as well as Montenegro are, Serbia isn't. If you have a US visa you can get Saudi visa online instantly. Keep in mind all visas need to be paid around 150 euros.
DeleteMinistry of foreign affairs is negotiating with more than 30 countries to abolish visas for Serbian citizens. Saudi Arabia is one of them, as well as USA, Canada, Great Britain and Ireland
Deleteireland is part of the EU, so it should be the same rules for Serbians as it would be for greece, hungary, croatia, slovenia. why is Ireland on the list?
DeleteBecause their visa policy is tied to the UK due to the Common Travel Area (CTA) agreement.
DeleteGreat deal! I guess we can expect flynas soon in Belgrade or JU in Riyadh
ReplyDeleteBEG-RUH I think is a 4+ hour flight. Possibly more now that airlines need to fly around the airspace of Israel and Jordan.
DeleteCan the same flight crew fly both legs of this route or thy time out? In that case JU would need to pay for hotel accommodation for crews staying in Riyadh.
Ofc they can... Basic knowledge. Crew can do 12h+
DeleteSound like it is cutting it real close, small diversion or due t airspace issue or delays in turnaround times and things would be tight.
DeleteSaudi Arabia could for a start open an embassy in Belgrade.
ReplyDeleteIf they do not have financial problems, of course. 😊
Their only embassy in the region is in Sarajevo.
DeleteThey are opening one in Zagreb by the end of the year
DeleteDo Croats also need visas for traveling there? Are there any interesting places someone non-muslim would find interesting to visit?
DeleteEveryone needs a visa to enter Saudo Arabia.
DeleteCroats get visa online quickly ( I have experience with relatives visiting us). It's hard to go explore without a car as it's definitely not made to be walkable but it's not worth spending a week, maybe 2 to 3 days
DeleteIronically only Bosnians need a full visa
DeleteSomehow I believe flynas before JU.
ReplyDeleteBoth Serbs and Saudis require visa. Both do not have much cultural, economic or demographic connection. It would be a surprise for this destination to succeed, the way it is right now.
ReplyDeleteSaudi Arabia is working on expansion of their airlines. They want to copy big ME3 companies, so they will have to fly to Belgrade, if they want portion of huge Serbian diaspora that transit to and from Australia. This is a step towards that goal
DeleteNot everything is about Serbs. Muslims make up 4.2% of Serbia's population, according to the 2022 census, that is 278,212 in Serbia alone.Then add 118,477 Muslims in Montenegro and 638,708 in Bulgaria, all of Kosovo, 1/3 of North Macedonia etc. You'll end up with a lot of people who DO have a cultural and religious connection to SA.
DeleteBeing a Muslim in our region doesn't necessarily mean that they go to Mecca.
DeleteAlmost all of people you’ve listed have closer airport than BEG. And if they are going to make a transfer anyway, why not through IST, which is halfway?
DeleteAlso, why would pilgrims fly to Riyadh instead of Jeddah, Medina or Mecca? To get one more transfer?
Mecca is served by Jeddah airport fyi. Which closer airport? Also closer doesn't mean more convenient. Do you think someone from MNE or N. Macedonia will drive to Tirana or Sarajevo to catch a flight? SA has direct flights from Sarajevo, Tirana, Athens and Istanbul. None of them, apart from IST, is convenient if you are from Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, N. Macedonia or even from Hungary having only 2 weekly to Jeddah from BUD. Sure you can go through Istanbul, but by that rationale you can go anywhere through IST, no need for flights from BEG or the region at all.
DeleteI like that it was all women on our side ;)
ReplyDelete+1000
DeleteMeh, no big deal here.
ReplyDelete