Failure to Reopen Kosovo-Serbia Air Link Blamed on COVID-19

Direct flights between Belgrade and Pristina, announced in January 2020, have not been restored yet due to the Corona crisis, BIRN has been told.

The Lufthansa group subsidiary that was supposed to realize the project, Eurowings, told BIRN that on this route "unfortunately there is still no further movement as a result of the Corona pandemic".

Eurowings did not answer BIRN's questions about deadlines for resuming flights, nor about why they decide to operate this line in the first place, in terms of assessments about possible traffic and profit.

Kosovo and Serbia institutions have stayed silent on the matter.

Bujar Ejupi, head of the Kosovo Civil Aviation Authority, told BIRN he "has no information" on why the Pristina-Belgrade airline was not active. BIRN also contacted Kosovo's Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Infrastructure, as well as the Prime Minister's office but did not receive any responses from them by the time of publication.

BIRN did not get any answers from Serbia's Ministry of Construction, Traffic and Infrastructure nor Ministry of Economy, whose then minister signed the deal.

CCO @eurowings Michael Knitter: "Air transport stands for bringing people of different origins together peacefully. By establishing an airlink, Kosovo and Serbia are taking a step towards rapprochement on the initiative of the US. We are pleased to accompany this process." (2/2) pic.twitter.com/ShHwyzIwtN

— Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) January 20, 2020

Representatives of Kosovo, Serbia and Lufthansa signed letter of intent to re-establish the Belgrade-Pristina air route in the US Embassy in Berlin on January 20, 2020. The air bridge was broken as the Kosovo conflict escalated in...