Hainan Airlines to Relaunch Beijing-Belgrade Line in July or August

The Chinese company Hainan Airlines has filed for approval with the Civil Aviation Administration of China to commence nonstop flights between Beijing and Belgrade.

Based on the application, the service would start either in July or August, upon receiving necessary permits, although July 23 has been earmarked as the target launch date, according to the EX-YU Aviation News portal.

The airline has also received its requested landing slots at Belgrade Airport.

Most planned flights, including the Beijing - Belgrade service, will run just once per week due to continued covid caps and restrictions in China. Hainan Airlines’ Belgrade service will originate in Tianjin in Northern China, head to Beijing, after which it will be bound for the Serbian capital.

As said, the Chinese carrier plans to operate flights from Beijing to Belgrade early each Saturday morning

If the flights go ahead as planned, it will mark Hainan Airlines’ return to Serbia after four years. The carrier commenced services from Beijing to Belgrade via Prague in September 2017 with the 292-seat Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The airline held fifth freedom rights on the Prague - Belgrade - Prague sectors, allowing it to also sell tickets between the two European cities. However, flights were suspended in late 2018.

In the pre-pandemic 2019, Beijing was the second busiest unserved route from Belgrade with 52,123 passengers flying indirectly between the two capitals.

Air Serbia recently said it would soon make a decision on whether to lease a second A330 aircraft in order to launch new operations to Asia and North America, with flights to Beijing or Shanghai under consideration.

The majority of passengers flying between Serbia and China currently do so via Qatar Airways, KLM and Iran’s Mahan Air.

Air Serbia ad Beograd

Hainan Airlines

QatarAirways

KLM

Mahan Air

Civil Aviation Administration of China

Beijing Belgrade air line

Tianjin Belgrade

Airbus A330 300