PHOTOS: Belgrade - Mostar flights resume after 33 years

NEWS FLASH

Air Serbia introduced a new three weekly service between Belgrade and Mostar yesterday, marking the resumption of flights between the two cities after almost 33 years and for the first time since the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. Although the inaugural flight was operated by an Airbus A319 aircraft to mark the special occasion, the service will be run by the 108-seat Embraer E190 aircraft. Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, was among the passengers on the inaugural service, travelling on a two-day state visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The carrier’s CEO, Jiri Marek, was also among the passengers on the first flight. Commenting on the launch, Mr Marek noted, “Air Serbia strives to be a link connecting the Western Balkans and is succeeding thanks to good communication with partners in the region. The air connection established today between Belgrade and Mostar is the result of excellent cooperation and strong support provided by Mostar Airport. We believe the nonstop service will contribute to stronger and more efficient networking of countries in the region, as well as greater opportunities for travel to Western and Northern Europe. We expect great interest from passengers, especially those who want to travel between Mostar and Europe or North America, via Belgrade, the main hub of the national airline of the Republic of Serbia". The service is being subsidised by the local authorities in Mostar. Over 2.000 tickets have been sold so far.

Scheduled flights between Belgrade and Mostar were first established on August 15, 1962 by JAT Yugoslav Airlines. The service would operate off and on throughout the coming decades. The route initially served the local population but from the 1980s onwards became popular with transfer passengers traveling for religious purposes to visit the Medjugorje site. JAT itself sold special travel packages to Mostar for pilgrims in markets including the United States, the United Kingdom to as far afield as the Philippines. As Yugoslavia started to disintegrate, services were discontinued. JAT’s last flight on the route, which was also the final commercial flight between the two cities until yesterday, took place on November 23, 1991.

During the final summer season unaffected by the Yugoslav wars, in 1990, JAT operated eight weekly flights from Belgrade to Mostar, and six weekly services from Mostar to Belgrade. The reason for the discrepancy in frequencies on the outbound and inbound operation was that services from Mostar to both Belgrade and Zagreb intertwined, with operations to Zagreb maintained eight times per week. Departure times from Belgrade to Mostar were in the early mornings, middays and evenings, depending on the day, while return services from Mostar to Belgrade also included early morning, early afternoon, late afternoon and early evening departures.