FlyBosnia set for June 10 launch

The Saudi-backed Sarajevo-based start-up FlyBosnia plans to launch operations between Sarajevo and Riyadh on June 10. Flights are set to to operate on a daily basis with an Airbus A320 aircraft until September, after which services will be maintained three times per week. The Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation has confirmed that the airline has applied for an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) and that its application is still being evaluated. The carrier is likely to receive permits next month, allowing it to launch operations. Although the airline will initially link Sarajevo with Riyadh and later with Jeddah, it also plans to expand its network in the future to in-demand destinations. It will officially unveil its plans once it is granted an AOC.

FlyBosnia has been set up by Saudi Arabia's Al Shiddi Group, which was founded in 1975 with interests in various fields, including construction, real estate, agriculture and tourism. It has been operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2006, where the group consists of four companies - SRE Investment, Shad Invest, Sarajevo City Center (SCC) and Hotel Bristol. Nudžejma Skenderović, the head of SRE Investment, and Sulaiman Abdullah Al Shiddi, the head of the Al Shiddi International Group, have been listed as the founders of FlyBosnia, while Haris Čoloman, who previously worked at the now defunct virtual carrier Bosnian Wand Airlines, has been named as the carrier's CEO.

During the 2017 summer season, the Al Shiddi Group partnered with Egypt's Nesma Airlines to launch five weekly flights between Riyadh and Sarajevo, which were maintained for a three-month period between June and September. This year, the route will be taken up by FlyBosnia itself which plans to lease a single A320 and operate flights with its own crew, which have recently been recruited. The Saudi conglomerate has described FlyBosnia as a "new young and dynamic airline", which will "strive to ensure that passengers enjoy safe flights with high standards of customer service". Previous attempts to set up a commercial airline in Bosnia have failed. The country's two former flag carriers, Air Bosna and B&H Airlines, have gone into bankruptcy, with the last of B&H Airlines' property, such as trolleys, airstairs and cargo containers, put up for sale on February 15. The only airline in Bosnia and Herzegovina in possession of a local AOC is the Tuzla-based cargo carrier Icar Air.