January 27, 2022 - The latest flight news to Croatia brings more bad news to Zagreb Airport, as Air Serbia Belgrade-Zagreb winter flights have been further reduced in February, following Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Ryanair, and KLM.

The Serbian national airline Air Serbia will operate on a reduced basis on its only year-round route to Croatia - between Belgrade and Zagreb, this February, reports Croatian Aviation.

Thus, Air Serbia will mainly operate three times a week between Belgrade and Zagreb, on Mondays, Fridays, and Sundays. This is a consequence of the low demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic in Europe. A month ago, it was clear that the airline wanted to operate on this line with significantly more weekly departures, however, there is no need. 

The airline planned daily flights on this route (28 return flights in February), but by February 24, as many as 14 return flights had been canceled, resulting in the withdrawal of 1,960 seats. 

In March this year, Air Serbia currently offers 5 weekly flights on this route, every day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but there is no doubt that the airline will still revise its flight schedule and, in case of low demand, additionally cancel certain departures.

After Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Ryanair, and KLM, Air Serbia is just another airline in a series that has reduced the number of available seats to Zagreb.

However, Croatian Aviation believes that 1,960 fewer seats aren’t too big a number, especially compared to the aforementioned carriers. Austrian withdrew 3,600 seats to/from Zagreb, British Airways almost 5,300, Eurowings over 5,500, and Ryanair more than 23,000 seats!

There are 40,000 seats on sale, but due to low demand, flights were canceled, which led to the withdrawal of this capacity.

Last year, Zagreb Airport justified the suspension of flights by reduced demand, claiming that the same was happening in the region and Europe. Croatian Aviation adds that this is not an accurate figure, as Austrian was present last winter in Belgrade, Skopje, Sarajevo, Pristina, Podgorica, but not at Zagreb Airport. This winter, the airline again suspended flights between Vienna and Zagreb. The same could also apply to Eurowings, which is present in the region, while the number of weekly flights to Zagreb has been drastically reduced.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.

November 22, 2021 - Air Serbia Belgrade-Zagreb flights will run daily in December, so long as the Zagreb fog allows it! 

Serbian national airline Air Serbia will increase the number of operations between Zagreb and Belgrade, operating daily in December, reports Croatian Aviation.

Since the pandemic's beginning and immediately after the lockdown, Air Serbia resumed traffic between Belgrade and Zagreb, constantly changing the number of weekly operations and adjusting them to the demand itself. Until December 5, six flights a week have been announced, every day except Tuesdays, and from December 7, Air Serbia will introduce a flight on Tuesdays, meaning they will run between the two cities every day. 

From December 10, there are two flights a day on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, which will increase the number of weekly frequencies to 10!

Namely, on certain days, Air Serbia will land late at night in Zagreb, while the return flight to Belgrade will be before dawn, around 4 am. Given that the difference between the incoming and outgoing flights will be short, it is to be expected that the crew will wait for the return flight on the aircraft.

ATR72 aircraft with a capacity of 70 seats have been announced for all flights. However, Croatian Aviation states that the problem for the airline is the weather conditions in Zagreb, i.e., the thick fog due to which ATR72 aircraft are often unable to land in the Croatian capital. In that case, the airline is forced to either cancel the flight, delay the flight and wait for the weather to improve, or do what was done last night due to fog - replace the aircraft on the line with a larger type for which fog is not an obstacle.

For example, the visibility in Zagreb last night was only 200 meters, so instead of the ATR, the A319 landed in Zagreb with an hour delay, carrying 52 passengers. As a result, only 30 passengers left Zagreb for Belgrade on Sunday night.

For more on flights to Croatia and other travel announcements, make sure to check out our dedicated travel section.