Transavia France has cancelled plans to launch flights between Paris Orly and Belgrade this summer season. In a statement to EX-YU Aviation News, the carrier confirmed the cancellation, citing “internal reasons”. Services were due to commence in July and run twice per week. Ticket sales have now been discontinued. As EX-YU Aviation News learns from other sources, the airline had initially delayed the service launch from April until July and eventually cancelled the flights due to concerns over refuelling at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The fuel provider, NIS, is under threat from US-imposed sanctions targeting Russia’s oil sector.
NIS, as Serbia’s largest energy company and Belgrade Airport’s sole fuel provider, is majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Neft (50%) and Gazprom (6.15%), while 29.87% of the shares are owned by the Serbian government. As a result, it was due to be sanctioned in late February. However, the United States has delayed the imposition of sanctions until April 28 noting the measures are not aimed at Serbia but at Russian entities. Despite this, NIS is facing numerous difficulties because of the impending restrictions, which could be averted in the case of an ownership change. Refuelling at Belgrade Airport has been unaffected after a workaround was found to avoid direct purchase of fuel from NIS, however, the ongoing arrangements have left some airlines uneasy.
Flights between Belgrade and Paris are currently operated by Air Serbia and Wizz Air, serving Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais airports respectively. In 2024, Air Serbia carried 193.500 passengers on its Paris route, while Wizz Air transported 88.903 travellers on the Belgrade - Beauvais service. Combined, a total of 282.403 passengers flew between the Serbian capital and the two Parisian airports last year.
Understandable concerns, hopefully NIS is bought out by a local company asap
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteLocal company to buy NIS? What local company?
DeleteIdk I'd assume there's at least a few holding companies and investment banks that'd be able to buy it out
DeleteIt doesn't even need to be a local company, some European company/companies could participate also.
Deleteyes, with Monopoly money everything is possible. #delusional
Deletewhat a lame excuse. they don't want to admit that the sales are going very poorly
ReplyDeleteWhat are you talking about? Try reading the article first. It is not the airline's 'excuse'.
DeleteOf course it is. If that was a valid excuse then others would be doing the same, starting with Wizz Air which wouldn't even consider bringing back the 4th plane and launching two new destinations.
DeleteIt's a total excuse. KLM still flies to Belgrade. Overnight!! And it's the same company as Transavia.
DeleteKLM and Transavia are registered in Netherlands, AF and Transavia France are registered in France. Some politics could be playing a role in that.
DeleteIt doesn't matter where's the company registered, the ultimate owner is what matters and it's unique in this case.
DeleteYes, it does very much matter where the company is registered, especially in this case. You saw Wizz Air stop accepting fuel for some time at BEG.
DeleteYes, KLM flies to Belgrade but has a restriction on the Embraer E2 of 100 pax and are tankering fuel so I doubt it is a money making operation at the moment..
DeleteNo, it doesn't matter where is company formally registered, but from where is the ultimate owner.
DeleteMy company is registered in Belgrade, Serbia and we stopped working with NIS, because our owner is from UK who decided so.
Same with Transavia and KLM, if KLM-AF decide that neither company in their portfolio cooperates with NIS, it wouldn't matter is one of them is in Netherlands and the other one in France.
KLM has also stopped cooperating with NIS. It is tankering fuel on its Belgrade flights.
DeleteNo, it's not. I saw a fuel truck by their E2 a few weeks ago.
DeleteA few weeks ago and today are very different.
Deletea shame reason
ReplyDeleteIt's a convenient excuse. All other airlines are refuelling at BEG without a problem but now it's only Transavia that is actually having a problem. I remember it was posted on here that KLM boosted their capacity at BEG by over 40% this month.
ReplyDeleteBoth airlines have the same owner so how come KLM doesn't mind but Transavia does? In reality they failed to capture a piece of the market and are leaving.
This is yet another resounding success by the BEG management and Vinci. Just goes to show how utterly incompetent they are.
Nothing to do with management.
DeleteIn what universe has this got nothing to do with the management? Of course it does. This has nothing to do with refueling but probably with low sale numbers. This should not come as a surprise since they did not invest a single Dinar in marketing.
Delete@09:07
DeleteThe stagnation of new airlines and traffic numbers at BEG has everything to do with the way it is managed.
OTP, BUD, PRG, VIE, TIA, ZAG, SJJ, SOF are growing.
What is wrong with the route/traffic development team of our airport?
Interesting how at other airports it's always the managements fault except at LJU.
Delete@ Nemjee
DeleteNiste u krivu.
Transavia and KLM might have the same owner but they have separate managements and make separate decisions. Transavia and Transavia France do not cooperate with one another at all.
Delete@09:12
DeleteWell, currently around OTP, BUD, PRG, VIE, TIA, ZAG, SJJ, SOF there are no state&civil society collapses similar to the one at BEG`s catchment area.
^ No doubt the political situation has played a role but lack of pro active management by Vinci in attracting airlines has the biggest responsibility.
Delete@ 9:15
DeleteNonsense. Every time there is news about LJU people blame Fraport. There is no denying this reality. It's the same in SLO when people talk about it. We all know it's being badly run. It's just utter nonsense what you're saying!
Bravo Vinci!
ReplyDeleteI just checked, so far this year SOF has 15% more pax than BEG.
DeleteSomething needs to be done.
Source: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://sofia-airport.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Statistics-ENG-2025-03-1.pdf
The political crisis is not helping things either.
Delete@anon 09:15
DeleteI really wonder why some people always like to compare BEG and SOF on the beginning of the year when SOF is, due to winter tourism always stronger,l but somehow fail to come here at the end if the yer when BEG shows higher pax numbers than SOF?
Last year there was no 15% difference in traffic between the two. Nor in 2023.
DeleteThe trend is concerning.
And what was the difference in first 3 months of 2024?
DeleteSingle digits.
Delete8.2% to be exact. This year SOF is over 7% above 2024 while BEG is 0.4% above last year.
DeleteI see the "political crisis" guy is back. He will comment on every article I guess.
DeleteThe main differentiating factor between BEG and SOF is the FR base there and its 34 destinations.
DeleteIf they had a similar base here the difference would be huge in favor of BEG.
2024
DeleteBEG 8,367,931
SOF 7,922,702
Difference of almost half a million passengers.
Sapienti sat.
First quarter 2024 SOF was 122,565 pax above BEG.
DeleteFirst quarter 2024 SOF is 241,025 pax above BEG.
That is almost double the difference for the mathematically challenged.
Sapienti sat indeed.
Wizz and Air Serbia are struggling due to plane shortage while FB and FR aren't. It's really not that complicated
DeleteJU has no NEO or MAX aircraft on order, why would it struggle?
DeleteAir Serbia does not have a plane shortage this summer. In fact it has extra capacity.
Delete@ anon 11:03
DeleteThe total difference between BEG and SOF in 2024 was more than 445.000.
Even if the difference is bigger in Q1 it wil be obviously compensated by great summer this year in BEG.
Sorry to ruin your hopes but BEG will have this year again more passengers than SOF.
Indeed.
Not everyone here is concerned about merenje patke and which airport will be in front.
DeleteWhat is evident is that SOF is adding more pax in Q1 than BEG and that is something I, as a resident of Belgrade, would like to know more about - what are the reasons, how is BEG management mitigating risks and what opportunities do they plan to seize.
Belgrade is still well connected to Paris with Air Serbia and Wizz Air. The demand clearly exists.
ReplyDeleteTransavia probably saw the risk wasn’t worth it for just two weekly flights. Business decisions like this often come down to more than one factor.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that they also have a fleet issue. First they delayed flights, then they switched the B738 with A320neo and now they are terminating the route. Lot's of shuffling going around.
DeleteNearly 290,000 passengers flew between Belgrade and Paris last year . Clearly there’s strong demand. A third carrier would’ve been welcome.
ReplyDeleteA third carrier never holds out. AF has pulled out twice, ASL pulled out after 1 season, now Transavia before launching flights.
DeleteNot a big loss in our lives. They can take their lame excuses elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteActually a big loss for P2P passengers because ORY is supremely convenient compared to CDG and especially BVA. I was really looking forward to these flights. Shame.
DeleteI've said it before and I'm saying it again now . If and when Belgrade and Serbia become at least a mediocre tourist destination then it will be possible to attract some more foreighn airlines . Simple.
ReplyDeleteWhat an insulting comment.
DeleteIt's true. I don't find it insulting.
DeleteWhy?
DeleteName one thing the city government has done to invest in tourism in the city.
DeleteA lot more can be done in marketing the country and Belgrade to foreign visitors but as a destination it has loads of interesting things to do as a tourist. A great and affordable (by western European standards) city brake destination too.
DeleteDimitri from Athens
I guess rising tourist numbers are made up by the government. Transavia is leaving because there are no tourists and not because JU and W6 have together 3 daily flights. Odd that their 2 weekly did not kill them.
DeleteAnonymous 09:17
Delete+1
There are almost no tourists in Belgrade...Few years ago, after Corona, yes they started coming, especially from India and Iran, and some of them from EU, but Asian tourists stopped coming with introduction of visas, and for european ones, they just don't know..Russians and Bosnian Serbs are not real tourists, they live here, and some of them visit families..Small towns in Spain, say Logroño or Palencia, have more tourists daily than Belgrade
DeleteAnd tourists from China, Turkey, Israel. They are all made up?
DeleteCome on, that's nothing, exept from Turkey, yea you're right there...I travel a lot around Europe, planes are full of Chinese tourists...Our numbers are nothing, and I cannot be sure, but recon that majority of Chinese coming here , have families in Serbia, or came only to transfer...Tourists that you can see on Belgrade streets are from Korea, but that is so random, few people from time to time..
DeleteTreshanja seriously give up with the nonsense. You obviously have no clue about the Serbian tourism industry. Chinese tourists are plentiful, and in larger numbers then in Croatia for example. Absolute majority are tourists, not visiting family. They spend 2 days in Belgrade and then have organised trips throughout various parts of Serbia. I understand you need to voice your opinion about absolutely everything but you are now at the point of fabricating things.
DeleteOk, the thing is that you, and 97% of people here, comment under anon, and I'm putting my nickname..So I'm sure that planty of you comment everyhing on a daily basis, much more than myself..I make a comment just of certain topics, and only few time weekly, sometimes monthly, but I'm just "exposed"..Regarding tourists, this is my opinion, I never said I have facts, like noone of us has facts...What is obvious for all of us who travel, is that Belgrade doesn't have tourists in even moderate amounts, but very very low amounts considering size and position, history, culture, etc..and that tourism is very very undeveloped, and nobody cares about it..I just mentioned how statictics could be deceiving , looking at case of Malaysia..that's it..
DeletePlease stop with the nonsenseness. I rent 10
Deleteapartments in Belgrade city center and 95% of my guests are foreigners. Occupation is 98% during the year
@treshnja seems like you have no idea what you are writing here, that´s absolute rubbish to say the least...Palencia had something like 220K overnight stays for 2024, while entire region of Navarra had around 2 million; I don´t know if official data for Belgrade is published but I´ve found some data for the first 10 months of 2024 - there were more than 3 million overnight stays
Delete15:13: correction, I copied the data for Navarra while La Rioja was supposed to be in question :))) anyway, La Rioja had around 1 million of overnight stays....
DeleteBelgrade is visited by over a million toursts every year. The things you will read on here.
DeleteI think this is a good decision, only because AF should return to BEG. Their midday flight would really complement JU's morning and evening departures.
ReplyDeleteWhy would AF return so soon after leaving?
DeleteJU should of kept their midday rotations they had last summer as a minimum.
Delete@anon 9:26
DeleteWhat do you mean by "so soon"? AF hasn't flown to BEG since before COVID.
‘Internal reasons’ is always airline code for something deeper. Looks like the fuel issue was the real dealbreaker.
ReplyDeleteTransavia would have been a solid addition with Orly access.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteWe’re in 2025 and Belgrade still has just one fuel provider?
ReplyDeleteWhy ruin Gazprom monopoly?
DeletePassengers lose out again. Less choice, higher prices, and the same politics interfering with aviation.
ReplyDeleteYes but less competition is good news for JU!
Delete@09:52
DeleteJU seems to do better when competition is present.
Well you are forgetting about Wizz or do you think competition doesn't impact them?
DeleteI was looking forward to flying Transavia from Orly. Now I’m stuck choosing between expensive Air Serbia or trekking to Beauvais with Wizz.
ReplyDeleteYes, Orly is more convenient airport in Paris for sure...It would've been really good option...I have to admit, Transavia increased prices everywhere in the last 7-8 months, so they are not cheap option at all.
DeleteI flew with LH Group (outbound via ZRH, return via FRA) and they have some really convenient times for a good price, if you are not in a hurry.
DeleteOrly would’ve been so much more convenient than CDG or Beauvais. Shame this didn’t happen.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteRecently I was due to fly BEG - CDG and Air Serbia price was 400 euros for the return ticket while Wizz was 250 without any luggage, so I opted for Lufthansa for 200 euros. The market is there, it just needs a new player.
ReplyDeleteWhile looking for tickets at Transavia, I was surprised that they were also starting at around 200 euros per person.
Honestly, it is a lame excuse as their 737 can take the fuel for both sectors at Orly, it just seems that they failed on marketing and economics.
I really hope that easyJet will finally wake up...
It would be highly uneconomical not to refuel at BEG, that is not an option.
DeleteTo carry 7-8 additional tonnes of fuel for the return flight is not that much performance impacting in terms of fuel consumption.
Delete7-8 additional tones of fuel is the weight of 60-70 passengers AND their luggage!
DeletePolitical turmoil in the country is taking a toll. International tourist arrivals are significantly down, these factors are all taken into consideration when making strategic decisions when launching new routes. IMO they will come next summer when the situation, hopefully, calms down.
ReplyDeleteBEG will have much more passengers already this summer. No need to wait for next one.
DeleteWell, we can`t be sure about that from this perspective.
DeleteStop making things up, international tourist arrivals actually increased in February. Let's wait the end of April for March statistics. Stop listening to the TV propaganda. In the worst case scenario the number of tourists will stagnate as the BEG statistics for March are indicating.
DeleteAnon 11:00 You are wrong, go to RZS website (or even their Instagram), they posted official data that tourist arrivals and tourist nights are both down in January and February. It is all transparent and easy to check online.
Delete@Anon 11:00
DeleteYou seem to be seeing things through rose tinted glasses.
When every other country in southeastern Europe is experiencing a tourism boom stagnating is bad news.
We need to resolve the political crisis in a way that doesn't alienates foreign visitors AND do a lot more to promote the country and its offerings internationally.
Just my2cents
February tourist arrivals (Official data from RZS):
DeleteTourist arrivals 3.2% down
Tourist nights 5.4% down (when only foreign tourist taken into consideration, the fall is 8.1%)
The domestic arrivals decreased, but the international didn't. We are talking here about foreign tourists. Are we all quoting at the same source?
Delete''У фебруару 2025. године, у односу на фебруар 2024. године, број ноћења домаћих туриста мањи је за 15,5%, а број ноћења страних туриста већи је за 8,1%."
Do you see international tourists on the streets of Belgrade, apart of Russians who are not tourists?
DeleteMalaysia has on of the largest noumbers of "tourists" in the world, and it is leading "tourist" destination in whole south-east Asia..Yea right, thanks to transfers on Air Asia, because you have to pass customs in order to take another Air Asia flight..Also transfers with overnight..I'm pretty positive that similar thing happens here, that transfering "tourists", by air or by car, take a mojor part of our tourists..plus Bosnian Serbs visiting family..
Yes I see tourists. I just saw a whole group of Chinese tourists at St Sava Temple 20 minutes ago. And yesterday I saw a couple from Turkey (heard them speaking Turkish) taking photos.
Delete@Treshnja, these are real tourists in Serbia, not passengers. According to the methodology, someone is considered a tourist when a person stays at least for one night in the accommodation. Each arrival must be verified and registered in the system. The same thing applies for domestic travellers.
DeleteOf course that political situation has impact on BEG numbers.
DeleteBasically all industries, bar few, are in red compared to the same period last year.
https://rs.bloombergadria.com/ekonomija/srbija/77766/privredna-aktivnost-u-padu/news
Is that why Lufthansa keeps on sending full A321s from both FRA and MUC to BEG? Literally all foreign airlines are boosting BEG. You theory makes no sense.
DeleteLiterally BEG pax number are stagnating but literally all foreign airlines are boosting capacity!
DeleteThe stuff we read here by aviation experts...
Does Transavia France know more about future of refueling at Belgrade than all the other airlines using that service at the airport? Of course not. They don't. Reason for cancellation is something else.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's no issue at all. That's why Wizz Air didn't refuel for days. Some people here...
DeleteBut Wizz realized it was an inaccurate assessment and rejoined all other foreign airlines that never stopped refueling. Some people here drawing conclusions based on brief mistake by Wizz...
DeleteIt wasn't a "brief mistake". The only reason they resumed refuelling is because payments are now made to a third company. So they made it look as if airlines are not buying from NIS. Not sure you understand the implications of working with a sanctioned or soon to be sanctioned company. Almost everyone has stopped buying fuel from NIS now even though officially they are still not sanctioned.
DeleteNo answer to question what Transavia knows other airlines don't?
DeleteIt knows the same. And you will see other airlines react if this issue isn't resolved soon. Waiting on US to give one or two month delay will not have a good outcome. If I was an airline about to launch service to a new destination and that airport's only fuel provider is about to be sanctioned by the US, I too would certainly rethink launching flights.
DeleteThis is beyond embarrassing. Our incompetent government is making as an international pariah
ReplyDeleteIt was the previous government that sold NIS to the Russians for peanuts.
DeleteAll governments are trying to please the Russians any way they can.
DeleteWe should also sanction everyone who breathes air from Russia.
DeleteOr lives on a planet that is inhabitated by Russian untermenschs...