Niš Airport secures Egypt flights from May 2019

Niš Constantine the Great Airport will be linked to Egypt this coming summer season, connecting the Serbian city with the African continent through scheduled flights for the first time. In addition, services between Cairo and Belgrade are also expected to launch. The Egyptian Ambassador to Serbia, Amr al Jowaily, said, "The visit by the Governor of the Red Sea to Serbia in October, which was the first visit of its kind, included talks with the top management of Niš's Constantine the Great Airport, from where we are expecting the first flights to depart for Egypt in May 2019. An important element in civil aviation is to think outside the box, as we did with Niš, and to consider the bigger picture, as we are projecting for Cairo as a regional hub".

Niš Airport anticipates welcoming a record 355.000 travellers this year. Although its figures have begun to decline in the past two months when compared to 2017, following the suspension of several routes, the airport's General Manager, Dušan Knežević, said last week that talks are underway with airlines over the introduction of new flights. The Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlović, noted, "We strongly believe that we will have some surprises concerning new carriers at Niš Airport in the coming period".

Mr al Jowaily also noted that progress is being made on the introduction of scheduled flights between Cairo and Belgrade. "This is one of the most important steps we all need to work on to expand bilateral relations. We have invited airlines in both countries to consider not only the important aspects of passenger traffic between the two countries, but the equally important fact that both capitals are gateways to their respective regions", the Ambassador told the "Cord Magazine". He added, "Cairo has one of the most extensive network of flights to Africa and the Arab world. It is worth noting that 'Greater Cairo' now hosts two new airports, namely West Cairo's Sphinx International Airport, which enjoys tremendous advantage of close proximity to the Giza Pyramids, the soon-to-be-opened Grand Egyptian Museum and the Cairo - Alexandria Highway. Can you imagine what it would mean for Serbian companies to be the first to enter the Egyptian civil aviation market, and to make use of this promising potential, not only to access a country that has a population of 104 million, but to a city that is a hub for two adjacent regions"?

Air Serbia was to introduce services to Cairo in 2014 but cancelled such plans due to deteriorating security in the country at the time. Egypt Air's subsidiary, Air Cairo, maintains scheduled year-round flights between Hurghada and Belgrade. This summer, it was joined by AlMasria Universal Airlines and Air Serbia on the route. "We have archived tangible results in civil aviation with regards to other destinations in Egypt, especially Hurghada, where this season, for the first time, we witnessed three companies serving tourists flying to this beloved resorts city", Mr al Jowaily noted. Earlier this year, Air Cairo confirmed to EX-YU Aviation News that it would consider introducing flights from Sharm el Sheikh to Belgrade and would coordinate future operations on this route with Egypt Air Express, which itself will open a base in the holiday resort town with the arrival of its new Airbus A220-300 aircraft over the coming months.