Air Serbia will operate flights to Istanbul-Belgrade three times a week in the initial phase and increase the frequency to four times a week by the end of the year. In the first months of next year, the Serbian airline plans to increase the frequency to seven times a week.
With the launch of Air Serbia, 74 airlines currently operate flights from Istanbul Airport.
“The launch of flights between Istanbul and Belgrade by Air Serbia is good news,” said CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board at iGA Airport Operations Kadri Samsunlu in the company’s statement on Friday. He recalled that Turkey and Serbia also have significant business potential in addition to tourism travel.
The agreement signed in July 2010 between Ankara and Belgrade to liberalize the visa requirement has enabled a dynamic in Turkish tourism, said Samsunlu. “In 2018, more than 100,000 Turks visited Serbia and Turkey hosted over 200,000 Serbian visitors in the same year,” he noted, continuing: “We expect passenger numbers between Turkey and Serbia to continue to rise after the start of Air Serbia flights.
iGA is welcoming the increasing number of foreign airlines flying from Istanbul airport, Samsunlu added. “We aim to become one of the airports that offer services more than 100 carriers in the shortest period of time. We would like to become a priority choice for global airline companies since Istanbul Airport redesigns aviation rules and molds the sector,” he said.
