New Route of the Day (11 July 2024): El Al between Tel Aviv and Belgrade
El Al added a new European destination to its network on Thursday 11 July with the introduction of flights between Tel Aviv and Belgrade. The 1,900-kilometre 2-weekly service will be maintained by its leisure brand Sun d’Or on Thursdays and Sundays with the 737-800 aircraft. Frequencies will increase to 3-weekly from 27 October. It will compete directly against Arkia’s 2-weekly rotations between the two cities.
Flight LY5195 departs Tel Aviv at 20:00 local time, arriving in Belgrade at 22:05 local time. The inbound service, operating as LY5196, takes off at 23:10 local time and arrives back in Israel’s largest city at 03:05 local time the following morning.
What they said
Yael Kalif, Headquarters & Control Manager Customers, Service and Sales at El Al, said: “We anticipate for Belgrade to be one of the more in-demand destinations for Israeli tourists. Belgrade is a popular city brake destination for Israelis. Now there is also increased demand for holidays to other parts of Serbia, especially to mountains and nature reserves.”
El Al returns to Belgrade
El Al had previously briefly served Belgrade in September 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic. Back then, it operated 6-weekly flights with its mainline 737-800 aircraft. However, the route was short-lived and lasted less than month.
In September 2020 Serbia and Israel created a travel bubble for Israeli nationals, enabling them to visit Serbia without restrictions. Although the travel corridor itself was short-lived, it saw a number of Israeli carriers maintain several daily flights to the Serbian capital. Due to the tightening of pandemic-related restrictions, the travel corridor was shuttered by late September.
Since the pandemic, Air Serbia restored operations between Belgrade and Tel Aviv alongside Arkia. However, the former suspended flights between the two following the outbreak of war in Gaza in October 2023 and has not resumed the service since.
Belgrade Airport to get two new intercontinental routes
Belgrade Airport handled a record 3.7 million passengers during the first half of the year, representing an increase of 13% on the same period in 2023. Although growth averaged over 20% during the first quarter, it slowed in the second as a result of Wizz Air’s frequency cuts. The ULCC maintains a base at the airport, however, due to issues involving engines on its A320neo-family fleet it has been forced to downsize operations.
Apart from El Al’s new Tel Aviv service, Belgrade Airport has welcomed another new route this summer, to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina launched by Air Serbia. On 30 September, the airport will see the introduction of a new intercontinental service, to Guangzhou in China, making it its fifth long-haul route following New York JFK, Chicago ORD, Beijing PEK and Tianjin. The new service will be maintained by both Air Serbia and China Southern Airlines. This is expected to be followed up by the introduction of flights to Shanghai PVG in December by Serbia’s flag carrier.
