Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air Eyes Launching Flights from Belgrade - Media

Wizz Air is interested in setting up a one-aircraft airline with a base in Belgrade, b92 (www.b92.net) quoted Serbia’s State Secretary of Tourism Goran Petkovic as saying. He added that the airline could bring in several tens of thousands of foreign tourists to the Balkan country.

Wizz Air could perform 20 flights a week from Belgrade, b92 quoted Belgrade International Airport's assistant director, Velimir Radosavljevic, as saying.

Serbia began blinking on the radar of many airlines, including a host of low-cost carriers, after the European Parliament last month approved a resolution that recommends lifting short-term visas for Serbian citizens travelling to European Union member states. The new visa rules are expected to take effect on December 19.

Italian low-cost airline Wind Jet will launch regular flights from Serbia’s southern town of Nis to Italy's Bologna later this month. Swedish peer MCA Airlines is also slated to launch flights to the town of Nis in December, b92 reported in October.

Earlier, local media quoted the head of the Civil Aviation Directorate, Nebojsa Starcevic, as saying that Serbia will grant licences to all EU-based airlines seeking to open routes to any of the Balkan state's airports.

Serbia’s tourism revenue, currently at some $1.0 billion (686,200 euro) a year, will rise by at least a half when low-cost air carriers start flying in following the liberalisation of the visa regime, the head of Serbia’s national tourism board YUTA, Radisav Stankovic, told SeeNews earlier. 

($=0.6862 euro)