Air Serbia is halting its services to Guangzhou while plans for next summer are still not confirmed. It has struggled amid the increased competition and low demand.
Services to Guangzhou Halted
Air Serbia is halting its services to Guangzhou, suspending ticket sales for services between Belgrade (BEG) and Guangzhou (CAN) from December until late March. The last flight is currently scheduled for Nov. 27.
This route was launched in September 2024 and has been operating generally twice weekly. Following this halt, Marek is still unsure how the service is operating next summer. He said:
“Next summer is still under question. We haven’t taken a final decision yet. We will see how things evolve, but it will be driven by how the market size develops.”
Increasing Competition and Lower Demand
Air Serbia has observed a steep decline in the number of Chinese passengers to Serbia. According to its CEO, Jiri Marek, there has been a 26% decline in the total market size between Serbia and China. He said:
“There isn’t really clear industry data, research or an answer as to what is behind it, but a 26% year-on-year drop in the market size is significant. We addressed that during the summer by going down to one weekly frequency.”
It also experiences competition from China Southern Airlines which operates between Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) and Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (BEG) twice weekly.
Previously, Air Serbia has reduced the service to once weekly for most of the 2026 summer season, before going back to twice weekly for winter in October.
Do you think services will return to Guangzhou next summer, or will growing competition and weaker demand force the airline to reconsider the route? Let us know in the comments!
