Recently, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, during which he expressed the need for non-stop flights between Belgrade and China. Vučić said service between the Serbian capital and Shanghai, Beijing or Guangzhou was needed due to the high demand and asked the Chinese leader to look into the matter. “President Xi said he is taking considerable note of the request. When he says something like that, you can expect his words to be put into practice within a short period of time, ”Vućić said. He added that the flights could be operated either by Air Serbia or a Chinese carrier.

China has emerged as one of the major unserved markets to and from Belgrade since visa restrictions between the two countries were mutually lifted in 2017, with travel reaching an all-time high in 2019, before the pandemic of coronavirus. A total of 145,248 passengers traveled between the two countries in 2019 (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan). Of these, 62,518 flew to or from Shanghai, or about 43% of all Chinese travelers. It was followed by Beijing with 52,123 passengers and Guangzhou with 14,087 travelers. Air Serbia CEO Dunacan Naysmith recently said the airline was continuing to explore options to expand its long-haul network, with the Chinese market being attractive. Air Serbia has entered into a codeshare agreement with Air China between Vienna and Beijing. Last year, the Serbian carrier renewed its special prorated agreement with Hainan Airlines allowing passengers to reach Beijing from Belgrade via Brussels, Berlin and Moscow.