Air Serbia has launched twice-weekly service between Belgrade and Rostov-on-Don, which will now operate on Fridays and Sundays. The inaugural flight (JU 676), An Airbus A319, landed at Platov International Airport greeted by a traditional water cannon salute.
On Monday (June 7, 2021), Air Serbia announced the launch of new service between Belgrade and Rostov-on-Don, the carrier’s fourth destination in the Russian Federation. Flight JU 676, an Airbus A319, was greeted at Platov International Airport with a traditional water cannon salute and a ceremony attended by representatives of Air Serbia and airport authorities. Platov International Airport is one of Russia’s newest airports, having just opened in 2017. Rostov-on-Don is known as the “Gate to the Caucuses” and is one of the largest cities in the European part of Russia. The city is also the political, cultural and economic center of the south of the country. Air Serbia originally planned on launching flights to Rostov-on-Don in June 2020, but the start of flights was delayed due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In Monday’s announcement, Air Serbia’s General Manager of Commercial and Strategy, Jiri Marek, said,
“We are pleased that, despite the current circumstances, we are further expanding our network of destinations and strengthening our presence in Russia, which is a strategically extremely important market for us. We are glad that by improving our offer, we are contributing to the strengthening of commercial and tourist activity between our two countries. This is evidenced by the high demand and good load factor of flights to Rostov-on-Don in the coming period.”
Also commenting on the new service, Platov International Airport’s Executive Director, Alexander Serov, said,
“We are always glad to see new airlines at Platov airport. We hope for long and mutually beneficial cooperation with Air Serbia. The new route from Rostov-on-Don to Belgrade is very important, since it activates further development of international and domestic flights. Belgrade is a major transport center in Europe while Platov has a well-developed network of direct air flights to the regions of Russia. These factors open up prospects for the growth of Rostov airport as a transfer hub. Moreover, Platov already has a successful experience as a hub for servicing flights from Russian regions abroad.”
Air Serbia has designed the flight schedule to offer seamless onward connectivity via Belgrade on the carrier’s network to destinations including Athens, Bucharest, Istanbul, Larnaca, London, Ljubljana, Tivat, Paris, Podgorica, Prague, Sarajevo, Skopje, Thessaloniki, Tirana and Zurich. The flight time on the Belgrade to Rostov-on-Don route is approximately two hours and fifty minutes. The carrier has also resumed service to Krasnodar, and will restart flights to St. Petersburg on June 8, 2021.
Source: Air Serbia