With today’s flight JU506, at 06:50am from Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, service between Belgrade and Chicago has been resumed after a 30-year hiatus.
Direct flights between the Serbian capital and the “Windy City” will be operated twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which will be boosted to three weekly flights starting from 12 June, on Mondays as well. Airbus A330-200, from the Serbian national airline’s wide-body fleet, will be deployed on the route.
The ceremony for Air Serbia’s inaugural flight to Chicago was attended by President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Deputy PM and Minister of Finance Siniša Mali, Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesić, Mayor of Belgrade Aleksandar Šapić, U. S. Ambassador in Serbia, H.E. Christopher R. Hill, as well as representatives of the Serbian national airline, the aviation industry, and the media.
“This day is of especial importance for our company, Serbia, Belgrade, and the entire Western Balkan region, as well as the large number of our compatriots who live and work in North America. We are pleased that we responded to passenger needs, and for enabling them to easily fly over 8,000 km, on Air Serbia’s comfortable wide-body aircraft. We believe that the flights between Belgrade and Chicago will be useful for all passengers, regardless of the reason for travel, and that it will help improve business, tourism, and all other links between Serbia and the US,” said Jiri Marek, CEO of Air Serbia.
“In addition to New York, which Air Serbia has been flying to for nearly seven years, our passengers will now be able to travel on another direct schedule service of our airline, between Serbia’s capital and Chicago. The importance of that service, among other things, is evidenced by the fact that a large number of flights in the coming weeks and months have already been well-booked,” said George Petković, Vice President Americas at Air Serbia.
By launching flights between Belgrade and Chicago, Air Serbia enables good connections from the “Windy City” for its passengers, via Belgrade, to a large number of attractive destinations in its growing network. These include Athens, Vienna, Berlin, Bologna, Bucharest, Dubrovnik, Istanbul, Larnaca, Ljubljana, Prague, Pula, Podgorica, Rome, Sarajevo, Skopje, Sofia, Tivat, Venice, Zagreb and many other cities.
Chicago is Air Serbia’s third long-haul destination, and the second one in North America. The first such route was launched in June 2016, when the national carrier launched direct flights between Belgrade and New York for the first time since its rebranding. By increasing the number of flights between Belgrade and New York on seven weekly flights, and by commencing flights to Chicago, during the summer season Air Serbia will offer up to 10 weekly flights between the capital of Serbia and North America.