PHOTOS: Eurowings touches down in Mostar

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Eurowings launched its long-awaited first service between Dusseldorf and Mostar yesterday, which will be followed by flights from Stuttgart on Saturday. It comes after the city won a Facebook vote last year aimed at selecting the airline's newest destinations. "Mostar is a beautiful city. The first flight was a success, passengers are happy and we are delighted by the warm welcome at the airport. We hope to continue our successful cooperation", Michael Schaub, the head of the Dash 8 fleet at Lufthansa's subsidiary LGW (which is operating the flights on behalf of Eurowings), said. The Mayor of Mostar, Ljubo Beslić, noted, "This represents a new beginning, a whole new era for the development of tourism in Mostar and all of Herzegovina".

The new seasonal flights come just several weeks after Croatia Airlines launched year-round operations from Zagreb. Local authorities in Mostar will support Eurowings' new routes with just over a quarter of a million euros per year as part of a five-year deal. Despite plans for both the Dusseldorf and Stuttgart services to be maintained twice per week, the second weekly flight from Stuttgart has been pushed back and will commence from July 14 instead.