Air Serbia carries 2.76 mln passengers in 2022

BELGRADE - In 2022, Air Serbia carried a total of 2.76 mln passengers on scheduled and charter flights, which is a 73 pct increase compared to the previous year.

In a statement, the company said it had increased the number of flights by 60 pct, operating 87 routes to four continents.

"The national airline operated a total of 31,420 flights from three international airports in Serbia - its hub in Belgrade, as well as the airports in Nis and Kraljevo. This represents a 60 pct increase compared to 2021. The average load factor was 72 pct, which represents an increase of 8 pp y-o-y. In 2022, Air Serbia expanded its network with 15 new destinations and reinforced its fleet with seven new aircraft.

During the previous year, Air Serbia flew to a total of 87 routes across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa via scheduled, seasonal, and charter flights. Compared to 2021, direct flights to 15 new destinations have been launched, including Valencia, Malaga, Malta, Lyon, Bologna, Hanover, Nuremberg, and others. As of December 9, the national airline resumed flights to the People's Republic of China after a 22-year hiatus. The first destination in this Asian country is Tianjin, the fourth largest city and the largest port in northern China. As a result, Air Serbia managed to position itself on the market as one of the few European airlines that offer direct flights to the People's Republic of China," the company said.

"Over the last 12 months, we have worked to utilise the opportunities that arose, quickly adapting to changing market conditions. We focused our strengths and capacities on further development and growth of the company and all our employees. Thanks to our ambitious goals and readiness to work on their implementation in an agile and enterprising manner, we have achieved record-breaking results in various spheres. In terms of the number of passengers carried, we are only 2 pp away from the record-breaking pre-pandemic year of 2019," said Air Serbia CEO Jiri Marek.

"In 2023, we will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of operating as Air Serbia. We have great plans ahead. Air Serbia will introduce more than 20 new destinations, including Chicago, our second destination in North America. Our airline is continuously renewing and expanding our fleet. We are aware that the passengers' expectations are high, and we are ready to continue developing and changing for the better," Marek said.

"Last year's results in charter transport were particularly good, with Air Serbia operating 2,663 flights on a total of 21 charter routes, achieving a 10 pct better performance than in 2021. From Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport and Nis Constantine the Great Airport, it operated flights on as many as nine routes in Greece, six in Turkey, three in Egypt, two in Italy, and one in Tunisia," Air Serbia said. 

By carrying nearly 5,000 tons of cargo, Air Serbia Cargo achieved a 30 pct better result in the previous year than in 2021.

The services of Air Serbia's Premium Lounge at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport were used by 54,000 passengers in 2022.

In addition, in 2022 Air Serbia positioned itself among the European airlines with the highest number of weekly flights from the Istanbul airport - the number of flights between Belgrade and Istanbul increased from ten to 17 flights a week, the airline also said.