Gulf carriers resume EX-YU operations


Airlines from the Gulf region have, as of today, started progressively reintroducing flights to cities in the former Yugoslavia following a three-month hiatus. All will maintain operations with a reduced schedule and face significantly decreased demand. Carriers from the Gulf region rely heavily on transfer passengers from Australia on their flights to cities in the former Yugoslavia, however, Australian residents and citizens are banned from leaving the country until at least September, other than for essential business, which requires special state approval. The measure is expected to be extended until the end of the year.

Qatar Airways has today reintroduced operations from Doha to Belgrade and Zagreb. The carrier will maintain three weekly operations to each city with its Airbus A320 aircraft, with exception to flights to the Serbian capital during the first week which will see A321 equipment. Services to Belgrade will be increased to four weekly from July 27. Entry into to Doha is not permitted for foreign citizens and non-residents, with the measure expected to last until September, however, transferring through Doha Airport is permitted. Passengers will notice minimal changes to their on board experience with Qatar Airways, with menus, meals, beverages, blankets, pillows and amenity kits all still being provided. The greatest point of difference will be cabin crew attire, which includes a full hazmat suite, gloves, masks and protective eyewear. At this point, Qatar Airways does not plan to resume services to Sarajevo and Skopje until the start of the 2020/2021 winter season, however, changes remain possible. Furthermore, seasonal services to Dubrovnik, which were to launch this summer but were then rescheduled for next year, have been removed.

Greatest difference to Qatar Airways' on board experience will be cabin crew attire

Flydubai will restore services to Belgrade on July 4 and operate three times per week, each Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Operations to Sarajevo will restart on July 8 and run three times per week, each Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Its seasonal flights to Dubrovnik will be restored on July 16 with two weekly rotations, each Thursday and Sunday. At this point, seasonal services to Tivat have been cancelled, while flights to Skopje have been suspended until the start of the 2020/2021 winter season. The carrier is expected to gradually increase frequencies from August. Entry into Dubai for foreigners will be permitted from July 7 with a negative PCR test. Transfer through Dubai Airport is allowed without testing requirements. Emirates, which serves Zagreb, plans to resume seasonal flights to the Croatian capital on September 1 with four weekly operations from Dubai.

Flydubai route map for July

Etihad Airways will restore services between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade from July 18, initially with a two weekly rotation. Foreigners are still denied entry into the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, however, transfer is permitted through the airport. Sharjah-based Air Arabia intends on resuming seasonal services to Sarajevo from July 16, although its schedule has not been finalised yet. Saudi Arabia’s Flynas has suspended its operations from Riyadh to Sarajevo for the rest of the summer. It previously shelved plans to launch a new service from Qassim to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital and cancelled operations between Jeddah and Sarajevo.

Comments

  1. Anonymous09:02

    Is this the first time QR will offer more seats to BEG than they do to ZAG? I guess without Asian tourists sales have plummeted. They were even considering sending the B788 to ZAG at some point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:39

      Yes. Although I don't remember them considering sending B787 to ZAG.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:45

      "They were even considering sending the B788 to ZAG at some point."

      Who said that?

      Delete
    3. I said that. And I got info from my friend working for QR at ZAG

      Delete
    4. Anonymous13:27

      What is he saying now? They must be depressed with all that's going on.

      Delete
  2. Anonymous09:02

    Good to see that their flights are resuming despite no chance for people to fly from Australia.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous09:03

    This would be a good time for Wizz Air to launch Abu Dhabi flights, with no Flydubai or Qatar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      And what would they achieve with that? The article says entry to Abu Dhabi is still not allowed and Wizz cannot carry any transfer passengers, which is the ones Flydubai and Qatar have the most on SKP flights.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:07

      Do you realize WHY there is no FZ and QR flights? It not allowed to entry into gulf countries, only transfer passengers can have benefit.

      And you suggest to launch new route which will rely just on point to point passengers?

      You could read alot of geniuos ideas in this blog sometimes...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:35

      Wizz flying Skopje-Abu Dhabi could make sense once Wizz Air opens its base in Abu Dhabi. Hopefully by then the borders will reopen.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:56

      Wizz Abu Dhabi will cater to completely different set of passengers. It would generate a lot of P2P demand considering how low the fares are if you look from Sofia for example.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous09:04

    FZ could have really started ZAG until EK returns.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:05

      Without Asian tourists onboard can even FZ make ZAG work? Australian passengers have also QR and don't know how many they really are.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:07

      Read the article. There will be no Australian passengers.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:10

      So who are they carrying on those flights. From what I know Australians can travel abroad.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:11

      They can't. Read at least the first paragraph of the article.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:17

      Isn't it just easier to copy the text here, it's quite long and I would have to look for it.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous09:17

      Australians can't travel abroad at all. And it's not just Australians. Like it says in the article it's also permanent residents. Meaning if you are citizen of one of the ex-Yu countries but live in Australia you can't leave.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous09:20

      @Anonymous09:17

      It's the second sentence!!! You really don't have to "look for it". And no, it would be normal and easier for you to read what you are commenting on and sharing your wealth of knowledge with us which is incorrect.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous09:55

      Nice, thanks!

      Delete
    9. Anonymous10:11

      Who is than flying to BEG if FZ can make it work and can't in ZAG?

      Delete
    10. Anonymous10:22

      Significantly more point to point passengers.

      Delete
    11. JATBEGMEL11:36

      There are alot more Serbian expats in the UAE compared to Croatians.

      JU will have another repatriation flight to AUH on 11.07 due to demand.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous09:04

    Congrats to QR, their first flight to BEG in months and they managed to delay it...heavily.

    *facepalm*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:09

      You know there is usually an operational reason for this to happen. They don't delay flights for the fun of it. And I wouldn't be too dramatic. It will land with an hour and 40 minute delay.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:09

      Do you know anything about aviation?

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:11

      Oh come on, what operational issues when half of their fleet is grounded

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:14

      As a transfer airline there could have been numerous reasons. Delayed incoming flight with a lot of arriving transfer passengers, issues with documentation, issues with all the new regulations... Do you seriously think they delayed it to irritate you. Jeez some people on here.

      Delete
  6. Anonymous09:08

    QR232 is full today. Economy is full and 5 seats in buisness occupied.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:11

      Don't know flight numbers, is that the SKP flight?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:13

      No it's the Belgrade flight, although I wanted to write QR231 (from Doha). And man if you can read you would see they are not flying to Skopje...

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:22

      QR has done pretty well. I'm not talking about this current situation but in general. Most people that travel further afield from BEG that I know of go with QR. It used to be EY years ago but it seems most are now choosing Qatar.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:26

      It's not surprising because QR offered the best prices to Serbian tour operators that sell tours to far away places like India, Vietnam and Thailand.

      Delete
    5. Anonymous09:47

      Expected that it is full considering there are many people still stuck around the world and trying to get home.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous10:02

      Also they offer the best quality.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous10:07

      True @last anon.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous09:27

    Looking at QR's timetable they seem to be planning to return to 10 weekly from September to Belgrade. Don't know if that's realistic though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous09:34

    Really disappointing Qatar and Flydubai have canceled Skopje :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:35

      They will be back in winter.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:36

      I hope so but I'm not so optimistic.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous09:54

      I would not be surprised if FZ turns Skopje into a seasonal route. Twice weekly in summer is quite low.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous09:58

      Obviously Qatar launching flights had an impact but then again Qatar has also decreased Skopje over the years.

      Delete
  9. Anonymous09:37

    Interestingly Qatar did not plan to resume Sofia and Bucharest until October but now they have merged the two routes and will fly Doha-Sofia-Bucharest until winter. So maybe there is still hope for Sarajevo and Skopje :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:57

      Wow that's crazy, those are two huge markets

      Delete
    2. Anonymous09:58

      I'm surprised too. You would think Bucharest and Sofia would be performing at least at the same level as Zagreb and Belgrade. Obviously not.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:56

      Not true. QR is resuming a triangled service from DOH-OTP-SOF from mid July.

      Delete
    4. Anonymous11:57

      Well that's exactly what I wrote so I don't understand what's not true...

      Delete
  10. Anonymous09:47

    With UAE residents unable to enter the EU, Bosnia and Serbia should use the opportunity to attract as many tourists as possible from this market.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JATBEGMEL11:52

      There were issues for UAE residents to return to the UAE until last month. Abu Dhabi is still restricring movement, with police permits and a negative Covid test needed to enter the Emirate, even domestically. Tourists will not be travelling around as if everything is back to normal.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:58

      Dubai residents can travel internationally. When they arrive back they will be tested at the airport.

      Delete
    3. JATBEGMEL13:38

      Dubai residents also need to apply for a permit to leave and return. I dont think many will want to risk their employment in Dubai for a holiday, especially since businesses are laying off employees.

      Delete
  11. Anonymous09:52

    Flynas not flying to Sarajevo could be good news for Fly Bosnia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous09:54

      Not really. They are not resuming flights because KSA is closed. No one can either come in or leave. So FlyBosnia is in the same boat.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous10:09

    Flew with Qatar two weeks ago to get back home after being stuck in Australia for a few months. I will write a trip report. Considering all the onboard service reductions airlines have been making with covid as an excuse the Qatar experience is surprisingly unchanged. But I'm just happy they got me home :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:43

      Good to know. Looking forward to the report.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous10:44

    It is good to see that most airlines are coming back. I was worried many of these temporary suspensions would become permanent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:52

      Well we will see regarding QR in Sarajevo and Skopje.

      Delete
  14. Anonymous10:47

    Air Arabia is showing daily flights from Sharjah to Sarajevo from 16th of July, but I highly doubt this will materializw.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:52

      In the article it says

      " Sharjah-based Air Arabia intends on resuming seasonal services to Sarajevo from July 16, although its schedule has not been finalised yet."

      Delete
  15. Anonymous10:47

    Will EY fly the BEG flights with the A320?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous13:30

      Hopefully they upgrade it soon to B789!

      Delete
  16. Anonymous11:37

    Great news

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous11:37

    Pity about DBV being cancelled for good by QR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:45

      Demand for leisure travel will probably be down for years.

      Delete
  18. Anonymous11:39

    If EK start Zagreb on the 1st of September that would mean they will fly for just a month and a half.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:45

      Yes, let's hope it starts on 1.9.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous13:32

      I doubt they'll come back though

      Delete
    3. Anonymous15:32

      It would be logical FZ to fly to ZAG this year but that's not in the plan. I doubt there will be direct connection ZAG-DXB this year.

      Delete
  19. Anonymous11:42

    Well for what its worth, Thailand is reopening for tourists on 1st of August. No testing required. Just health insurance that covers Covid. I write this since its a popular destination for ex-Yu people transferring via Dubai and Doha.

    ReplyDelete
  20. When are these dlifhts ready to fly for southafrica will it be this month or not ?

    ReplyDelete
  21. When are Emirates qatar and etihad will be ready to fly south africa

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous15:57

    Qatar Airways has really been doing a lot of promoting on social media these last two weeks in Serbia.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous15:58

    EK CEO said a few days ago in an interview that post pandemic Emirates will have to focus more on developing P2P travel and not relying so much on transfers. He also said the B787 will allow them to open more routes and cooperate close with Flydubai. Hopefully they look into adding more routes to ex-Yu. At least seasonally.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous16:45

      This means there are good chances for EK in BEG

      Delete
    2. Anonymous21:27

      I really hope so.

      Delete
  24. When will qater resume it's flight to Nigeria

    ReplyDelete
  25. Any idea when QVC will open ?

    ReplyDelete

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