Regulator blocks FlyBosnia launch

The Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate for Civil Aviation has refused to issue the Sarajevo-based start-up FlyBosnia an Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), further delaying its launch. The Directorate noted that the airline had not met all the necessary requirements in order to be granted a permit but added that that the company still has the opportunity to mend its shortcomings. The Saudi-backed start-up initially planned to commence services between Sarajevo and Riyadh with a leased Airbus A320 aircraft in June, but later pushed-back its launch until August. Although FlyBosnia plans to link Sarajevo with Riyadh and later with Jeddah, it also intends on expanding its network to in-demand destinations sometime in the future. It will officially unveil all of its plans once it is granted an AOC.

In May, the airline's future cabin crew completed their training ahead of the planned launch. Out of 300 applicants, a total of ten female and five male cabin crew were selected and trained. They were awarded certificates at a public ceremony in Sarajevo after completing their course. 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.

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 flag carrier has gone into bankruptcy on two occasions, while Bosnian Wand Airlines (BWA), founded by the Iraqi Al Wand Group in 2015, with plans to fly from Sarajevo to Stockholm, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Malmo and Athens, lasted for only a month. There has also been a previous attempt, by a different investor, to set up an airline named FlyBosnia. In 2004, a UK-based company intended on establishing the carrier with flights between London Gatwick, Manchester and Sarajevo. However, those plans never materialised.