Air Serbia and Wizz Air have scheduled April 13 as a tentative date for the resumption of flights from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, which has been closed for commercial operations since last week to stem the outbreak of the coronavirus Covid-19. Both airlines have begun selling tickets for flights commencing in three weeks’ time. Additional adjustments remain highly possible, pending on travel restrictions and traffic demand. Air Serbia is today operating rescue flights to Moscow and Doha for stranded passengers, while foreign carriers, among which are Montenegro Airlines, Aegean Airlines, Air France and LOT Polish Airlines, have also been deploying aircraft to Belgrade to repatriate their own citizens. Furthermore, the Serbian carrier is expected to operate a flight to the United States in the coming days.

Foreign airlines have tentatively scheduled their resumption of services to Belgrade. According to existing schedules, Turkish Airlines, which will suspend most operations as of this Friday, plans to return to the Serbian capital and other points across the world on April 17. Etihad Airways will resume daily flights to Serbia on April 30, Flydubai on May 22 with seven weekly flights, while, at this point, Qatar Airways plans to make a comeback on June 1, initially with four instead seven weekly services, increasing to ten weekly from July 1. Government officials have so far refused to speculate on when the airport may be opened, blaming incoming arrivals from Europe as the source for the spread of the virus in the country.

Airlines are facing an unprecedented challenge as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause widespread disruption to operations and business. With cash tight and demand plummeting, airlines may be looking to bring in whatever money they can, by scheduling flights which may not necessarily materialise and getting passengers to defer their travel for later on, even if they won’t officially recognise revenue until a traveller flies. With exception to Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, airports in other markets across the former Yugoslavia have been closed for commercial flights. Slovenia has tentatively scheduled the reopening of Ljubljana Airport for March 30, although it remains to be seen if it will reopen as new virus cases in the country continue to rise.

UPDATE: Wizz Air has since extended its service suspension from Belgrade until May 1.