AirSerbia will return to offering one flight a day to Moscow, as announced by the President of Serbia this Sunday.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 25 February, AirSerbia did the opposite of most international carriers and doubled the number of flights to the Russian capital of Moscow. The Serbian flag carrier also introduced larger aircrafts to increase the number of seats for aircraft bound for Moscow.
Criticism over continued service to Russia
Interestingly, flights to Moscow have become the carrier’s most profitable destination.
AirSerbia is the only European airline to date that has continued to fly to Russia since the international flight ban triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkish Airlines has recently announced a suspension of flights to Russia from 15 April to 1 June, but shall continue to fly to Russia with increased services until then.
Criticism from the EU and Ukraine, stating that the country is snubbing the EU-wide ban on flights to Russia, has pushed Serbia to reduce flights to Russia.
The Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister, Emine Dzheppar tweeted in Chinese yesterday:
[…] EU airlines have suspended flights and closed skies for Aeroflot and charter use. Serbia is the only country in Europe that has not closed its skies. It’s a shame to earn blood-stained money for EU candidates.
Elsewhere, Serbia’s President, Aleksandar Vučić, announced the decision to reduce service to Moscow to one flight a day after “the witch hunt” against his country.
Some Turkish carriers continue to fly to Russia, and President Vučić referred to that in a TV interview on Saturday night. He complained that nobody in NATO would “touch” Turkey, who have “30 times more flights to Moscow than Serbia.”
It was not said when the reduction in flights will start. Today, there were two AirSerbia flights scheduled to fly to the Russian capital.
What do you think of the criticism AirSerbia received? Let us know.
